Category: Books

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What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond as poet John Hegley talks potatoes. Here’s Hutch’s List No. 34, from Gazette & Herald

John Hegley: Two poetry peformances at Helmsley Literary Festival. Picture: Jackie di Stefano

HELMSLEY Literary Festival leads off Charles Hutchinson’s recommendations to fill the cultural diary, joined by drag, folk and blues acts and an American coming-of-age classic.

Festival of the week highlight: Helmsley Literary Festival, Helmsley Arts Centre, John Hegley, New & Selected Potatoes, Saturday, 7pm to 8pm; I Am A Poetato, Sunday, 11am to 12 noon

POET, comic, singer, songwriter and spectacles wearer John Hegley heads to Helmsley with two shows, the first being his seriously funny, cleverly comic “best of golden oldies compilation with some new stuff” about love, family, France, art, the sea, dogs, dads, gods, taxidermy, carrots, glasses and…potatoes.

Second gig I Am A Poetato features An A-Z of Poems about People, Pets and other Creatures! Spelling it out for Helmsley, he promises Hedgehogs. Elephants. Laughing. Mandolin. Singing. Luton. Even a cardboard camel with moving parts. Yo!  For full details of two days of talks, signings, readings, open mic and a quiz, with Hegley, Anne Fine, Joanne Harris, Harriet Constable and The Chase’s Paul Sinha, visit helmsleyarts.co.uk. Box office: 01439 771700.

Bianca Del Rio: Discussing politics, pop culture and political correctness at York Barbican

Drag show of the week: Bianca Del Rio, York Barbican, tonight, doors 7pm

COMEDY drag queen and RuPaul’s Drag Race champion Bianca Del Rio heads to York on her 11-date stand-up tour. Up for irreverent discussion will be politics, pop culture, political correctness, current events, cancel culture and everyday life, as observed through the eyes of a “clown in the gown”, who will be “coming out of my crypt and hitting the road again to remind everyone that I’m still dead inside”. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Ryan Adams: Heading back to York Barbican on Friday

Return of the week: Ryan Adams, Solo 2024, York Barbican, Friday, doors 7pm

NORTH Carolina singer-songwriter Ryan Adams returns to York Barbican next week after playing a very long, career-spanning set there with no stage lighting – only his own side lamps – in April last year. This time he will be marking the 20th anniversary of 2004’s Love Is Hell and tenth anniversary of 2014’s self-titled album, complemented by Adams classics and favourites. Adams, who visited the Grand Opera House in 2007 and 2011, will be performing on acoustic guitar and piano. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Harp & A Monkey: Songs of everyday life, love and remembrance at Kirk Theatre, Pickering

Folk gig of the week: Friday Folk presents Harp & A Monkey, Kirk Theatre, Pickering, Friday, 7.30pm

GREATER Manchester song-and-storytelling trio Harp & A Monkey specialise in poignant, uplifting and melodic short stories, both original and traditional, about everyday life, love and remembrance. In a nutshell, the extraordinary ordinary, from cuckolded molecatchers and a lone English oak tree that grows at Gallipoli to care in the community, medieval pilgrims and Victorian bare-knuckle boxers.

This versatile collective of artists, animators, storytellers and multi-instrumentalists has undertaken bespoke songwriting for soundtrack, film and art projects for the likes of Sky Arts and the Department of Sport, Media and Culture. Fylingdales Folk Choir will perform too. Box office: 01751 474833 or kirktheatre.co.uk.

York actress Kate Hampson in the matriarchal role of Marmee in Little Women at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Charlie Kirkpatrick

Play of the week: Little Women, York Theatre Royal, Saturday to October 12

CREATIVE director Juliet Forster directs York Theatre Royal’s new production of Louisa May Alcott’s coming-of-age story of headstrong Jo March and her sisters Meg, Beth and Amy as they grow up in New England during the American Civil War.

Adapted by Anne-Marie Casey, the production features Freya Parks, from BBC1’s This Town, as Jo, Ainy Medina as Meg, Helen Chong as Amy and York actress Laura Soper as Beth. Kate Hampson returns to the Theatre Royal to play Marmee after leading the community cast in The Coppergate Woman. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.

Seedling, by Sarah Sharpe, on show in Leeds Fine Artists’ 150th anniversary show at Blossom Street Gallery

Exhibition of the week: Leeds Fine Artists Celebrating 150 Years, Blossom Street Gallery, York, until October 31

LEEDS Fine Artists is celebrating its 150th anniversary with an exhibition at its regular York host, Blossom Street Gallery, featuring an inspirational collection of work demonstrating a wide range of styles and different media.

Taking part are: Sharron Astbury-Petit; Dawn Broughton; Jane Burgess; Mark Butler; Pete Donnelly; Alison Flowers; Roger Gardner; Margarita Godgelf; Dan Harnett; Peter Heaton; Nicholas Jagger; Michael Curgenven; Catherine Morris; Martin Pearson; Clare Phelan; Trevor Pittaway; Neil Pittaway; Annie Robinson; Annie Roche; Sarah Sharpe and John Sherwood. Opening hours: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 10am to 4pm; Sundays, 10am to 3pm.

Tim Peake: Exploring the evolution of space travel at York Barbican

Travel show of the week: Tim Peake, Astronauts: The Quest To Explore Space, York Barbican, September 25, 7.30pm

BRITISH astronaut Tim Peake is among only 610 people to have travelled beyond Earth’s orbit. After multiple My Journey To Space tours of his own story, he makes a return voyage with his stellar new show, sharing the collected stories of fellow astronauts as he explores the evolution of space travel.

From the first forays into the vast potential of space in the 1950s and beyond, to the first human missions to Mars, Peake will traverse the final frontier with tales of the experience of spaceflight, living in weightlessness, the dangers and unexpected moments of humour and the years of training and psychological and physical pressures that an astronaut faces. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Lightning Threads: Showcasing their debut album, Off That Lonely Road, at Milton Rooms, Malton

Blues gig of the week: Ryedale Blues Club, Lightning Threads, Milton Rooms, Malton, September 26, 8pm

SHEFFIELD blues-rock trio Lightning Threads are influenced by the great rock musicians of another time, drawing comparisons with The Black Keys, Gary Clark Jr, Cream and The Doors.

Tom Jane, guitar and vocals, Sam Burgum, bass and vocals, and Hugh Butler, drums and keyboards, have been nominated for Best Album in the 2024 Blues Awards for their November 2023 debut, Off That Lonely Road, recorded with Andrew Banfield, of Superfly Studios, and graced by Kelly Michaeli’s gospel vocals. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.

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The Big Read welcomes crime novelists Ajay Chowdhury and Luca Veste to Acomb, Harrogate and Bradford on Monday

Authors Ajay Chowdhury, left, and Luca Veste, right, at the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate. Picture: Andrew Stevens

THE North’s biggest book club, The Big Read, returns from September 23 to 25, travelling to libraries across the North of England. First up will be Acomb Explore Library, Front Street, York, next Monday from 11.30am to 12.30pm.

Produced by Harrogate International Festivals and sponsored by the Inn Collection Group and Vintage Publishing, this free event is part of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival and is designed to celebrate and create awareness of literacy, while paying homage to the legacy of crime fiction’s greatest writers.

Visitors will have the opportunity to meet the festival’s reader-in-residence, Luca Veste, and fellow novelist Ajay Chowdhury, winner of The Sunday Times and The Times Crime Book of the Year, who will travel to seven libraries from Merseyside to Teesside, discussing Chowdhury’s The Detective, as they take the festival on tour. 

More than 1,000 free copies of tech entrepreneur, writer and Rented Space Theatre Company artistic director Ajay Chowdhury’s 2023 novel will be distributed across the participating libraries.

Luca Veste is the author of numerous crime novels, such as You Never Said Goodbye and The Bone Keeper. As well as hosting of the Two Crime Writers And A Microphone podcast and co-founding the Locked In Festival, he plays bass guitar in the band of authors, The Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers.

The cover artwork for Ajay Chowdhury’s novel The Detective

Sharon Canavar, chief executive of Harrogate International Festivals, says: “We know that reading stimulates the brain, reduces stress and helps us relax, and the aim of the Big Read is to bring people together from all walks of life through their shared passion for reading.

“This event is also a brilliant opportunity to raise awareness of local library services, which really are at the heart of our communities.

“The Detective is a cracking read and illustrates the rich variety that can be found in the crime-writing genre, and I’m sure it will encourage readers to explore the rest of Ajay Chowdhury’s books.”

Chowdhury’s latest novel in his Detective Kamil Rahman series, The Spy, was published by Harvill Sacker/Penguin Books in April, preceded by last year’s The Detective, The Cook in 2022 and The Waiter in 2021. First came his children’s novel, Ayesha And The Firefish, in 2016.

“I am both honoured and humbled that The Detective has been selected for this year’s Big Read,” he says. “I’m excited to join Luca on the road and looking forward to meeting readers across the North of England.”

The Harrogate Inn general manager Daniel Marshall, with a copy of The Detective, as staff member Lawrence Rhodes-Ibarra looks on from behind the bar. Picture: Andrew Stevens

Andrew Robson, of The Inn Collection Group, says: “The Big Read is a great way of supporting our libraries and bringing local communities together. Reading is one of life’s great pleasures and books have the ability to inspire us and show the world in a fresh light, which is why it’s a genuine pleasure for us to be involved in such a wonderful and rewarding project.”

Reader-in-residence Luca Veste says: “I’m delighted once again to be able to take the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival on tour with the Big Read. Local libraries are a cornerstone of our communities and have been an important part of my own life from an early age. I’m really looking forward to discussing this brilliant book with crime writing fans new and old.”

Crime novel devotees can head to a choice of seven participating libraries in York, Harrogate, Bradford, Formby (Liverpool), Stockport, Hexham and Stockton-on-Tees (Billingham) to collect a free copy of The Detective and sign up for the North’s biggest book club.

The Big Read 2024 schedule in Yorkshire:

Monday, September 23: Acomb Explore Library, Front Street, Acom, York, 1.30am to 12.30pm. The Harrogate Inn, Ripon Rd, Harrogate, 2.30pm to 3.30pm. Bradford City Library, Centenary Square, Aldermanbury, Bradford, 6.30pm to 7.30pm. Entry is free.

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The Dream Syndicate’s Steve Wynn to present night of music and stories at Rise@Bluebird Bakery on Saturday

“I don’t see this show as a stodgy reading or as a random selection of songs but, rather, a tiny play of sorts,” says Los Angelean musician and author Steve Wynn. Picture: Guy Kokken

ON his first UK solo tour in more than a decade, The Dream Syndicate founder and leader Steve Wynn visits Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, York, on Saturday night.

The Paisley Underground legend will be promoting his first solo album since 2010, Make It Right (Fire Records), along with his new memoir, I Wouldn’t Say It If It Wasn’t True (Jawbone Press), both released on August 30.

Wynn’s one-man show blends songs from and inspired by the book with a narrative structure of readings and storytelling. Expect evergreens and rarities from The Dream Syndicate’s 1980s’ catalogue, coupled with illuminating covers and reflective numbers from the new record, adding up to a show of a past revisited.

His debut book details the winding path from growing up as music fan and pre-teen bandleader in Los Angeles, through the formation and ultimate dissolution of The Dream Syndicate at the end of their first era in 1988.

Stops along the way make room for tales of cross-country Greyhound trips to track down Alex Chilton to wild, off-the-rails tours with U2 and R.E.M. and the epic heart-of-darkness making of his Californian indie-rock band’s controversial second album, Medicine Show, and plenty more.

The new album is a similarly reflective and intimately revealing collection, written and recorded in tandem with the writing of I Wouldn’t Say It If It Wasn’t True, featuring contributions from R.E.M.’s Mike Mills, The Bangles’ Vicki Peterson, Psychic Temple’s Chris Schlarb, Serena Maneesh’s Emil Nikolaisen, The Baseball Project’s Linda Pitmon and a cast of dozens.

Wynn says: “I don’t see this show as a stodgy reading or as a random selection of songs but, rather, a tiny play of sorts, a way of giving a flesh-and-blood companion to the book. I’m looking for that magic place where, say, Lenny Bruce and Spalding Grey and Ray Davies and Bob Dylan and maybe Hedwig might meet in a dimly lit cabernet on the back streets of Hollywood. I’ve never done this kind of show before but if I can hit all those markers, I’ll be happy.”

Steve Wynn, I Wouldn’t Say It If It Wasn’t True, A Night Of Songs And Stories, Rise@Bluebird Bakery, Acomb, York, September 21, 7.30pm. Box office: Box office: bluebirdbakery.co.uk/rise. Wynn will be selling and signing copies of I Wouldn’t Say It If It Wasn’t True (book) and Make It Right (CD/LP) after the show. Further Yorkshire gig on Wynn’s eight-date tour at The Greystones, Sheffield, September 18, 8pm.

The poster for Steve Wynn’s show at The Greystones, Sheffield

Steve Wynn: the back story

Founder, singer and guitarist of The Dream Syndicate, revered 1980s’ Los Angeles indie-rock band. 1982 debut The Days Of Wine And Roses is regarded as cornerstone of indie/alternative rock scene.

Prolific solo career, touring the world and recording on regular basis and touring/performing in indie supergroup Gutterball, Danny And Dusty and The Baseball Project (also featuring R.E.M. founders Mike Mills and Peter Buck).

Wrote scores for two hit Norwegian TV shows, Dag and Exit.

His songs have been covered by Luna, Yo La Tengo and Concrete Blonde among others

Lives in New York City.

I Wouldn’t Say It If It Wasn’t True in a nutshell:

A TALE of writing songs and playing in bands as a conduit to a world its author could once have barely imagine: a world of major labels, luxury tour buses and sold-out theatres, but also oneof alcohol, drugs and a low-level rock’n’roll Babylon. Ultimately, a tale of redemption, with music as a vehicle for artistic and personal transformation and transcendence.

Steve Wynn on Make It Right

The artwork for Steve Wynn’s new album, Make It Right

“I WROTE and recorded these songs in tandem with working on I Wouldn’t Say It If It Wasn’t True, my memoir, which comes out on Jawbone Press the same week as Make It Right, my first solo album since 2010.

“With each chapter, I would get ideas for songs inspired by the deep dive into my past and vice versa. The reflections became intertwined after a while, a mutual commentary between literal and metaphorical ruminating.

“The songs here aren’t directly autobiographical although the album does start with Santa Monica, the city and boulevard where I was born, and concludes with Roosevelt Avenue, the main thoroughfare of the Queens neighbourhood in New York City that I call home today.

“You write what you know – even when you’re not aware it’s what you’re writing about at the time.

“If the book recounted a tale of trepidation and dread and questionable choices, then that tale would turn into a song of similar intent like What Were You Expecting. A step back for perspective and positivity, in turn, found its way into a song like You’re Halfway There.

“The cataclysmic ‘one big open drain’ of Simpler Than The Rain was resolved by the resolute ‘I’m just trying to make it right’ on the title track. A gauzy and melancholy where-did-it-go-wrong Southern California flashback on the Long Beach-inspired Cherry Avenue would steer me towards a steelier determination and reset on Making Good On My Promises.

“It was a dialogue between the memoirist and the musician, a one-man Q&A, a gentle volley in the tennis court of my mind. 40-love, game, set and match.

“As I’ve found the melodies and words to stir and simmer with the stories I told in the book, I’ve simultaneously brought friends and collaborators from my recent and distant past to help flesh them out on the record. The likes of Vicki Peterson, Mike Mills, Stephen McCarthy, Scott McCaughey, Jason Victor, Dennis Duck and Mark Walton and my wife Linda Pitmon are all in the book and – look! – there they are on the record as well!

“And much like life itself, new faces and hit-and-run collaborators would pass my radar during the sessions and provide new light as well. Chris Schlarb, from California dream pop ensemble Psychic Temple, added his cinematic touch; Emil Nikolaisen, of Norway psych-grunge combo Serena Maneesh, chimed in with his trademark sonic anarchy and then Eric “Roscoe” Ambel (Del Lords, Joan Jett) used his studio savvy producer chops to tie it all together at the end.

“It feels perfect and very appropriate that the book and record came out in the same week. Not that one is needed to understand the other. Hey, you can just put on Make It Right and use it as the catalyst to create your own life story, dig into your own past. It belongs to you now. Let it tell your own tale while I tell mine. We’re all just trying to make it right.”

Make It Right track listing:

1. Santa Monica. 2. Make It Right. 3. What Were You Expecting. 4. You’re Halfway There. 5. Making Good On My Promises. 6. Cherry Avenue. 7. Then Again. 8. Madly. 9. Simpler Than The Rain. 10. Roosevelt Avenue.

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What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond when musical theatre goes back to school. Hutch’s List No. 33, from Gazette & Herald

Finn East’s Dewey Finn and Eady Mensah’s Tomika in rehearsal for York Stage’s School Of Rock: The Next Generation

FOR those about to rock, or celebrate jazz greats, or glory in Henry V, Charles Hutchinson stacks up reasons to head out and about.

Musical of the week: York Stage in School Of Rock: The Next Generation, Grand Opera House, York, September 13 to 21, 7.30pm, except September 15 and 16; 2.30pm, September 14 and 21; 4pm, September 15

YORK Stage is ready to rock in the riotous musical based on the 2003 Jack Black film, re-booted with a book by Julian Fellowes, lyrics by Glenn Slater and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Failed rock musician Dewey Finn (Finn East), desperate for money, chances his arm by faking it as a substitute teacher at a stuffy American prep school, jettisoning Math(s) in favour of propelling his students to become the most awesome rock band ever. Will he be found out by the parents and headmistress, leaving Dewey to face the music? Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Artistic director and cellist Tim Lowe: Running his 11th York Chamber Music Festival next week

Festival of the week: York Chamber Music Festival, various venues, September 13 to 15

FOR its 11th season, York Chamber Music Festival artistic director and cellist Tim Lowe is bringing together pianist Andrew Brownell, violinists Ben Hancox and Magnus Johnston, viola players Gary Pomeroy and Simone van der Giessen, cellist Marie Bitlloch and flautist Sam Coles.

The centenary of French composer Gabriel Fauré’s death will be marked prominently in the five concerts. For the full programme and tickets, go to: ycmf.co.uk.

Ronnie Scott’s All Stars: Presenting Ronnie Scott’s Soho Songbook at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Shawn Pearce

Jazz gig of the week: Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club Presents The Ronnie Scott’s Soho Songbook, York Theatre Royal, September 13, 7.30pm

RONNIE Scott’s Jazz Club returns to York Theatre Royal with a new collection of music, narration and projected archive images and rare footage, celebrating Ronnie Scott’s Soho Songbook.

Hosted and performed by the award-winning Ronnie Scott’s All Stars, led by musical director James Pearson, the show offers a glimpse into the London club’s storied world with its litany of legendary jazz players and vocalists. Box office for returns only: 01904 623568.

Paul Carrack: Celebrating 50 years since his first hit, Ace’s How Long, at York Barbican. Picture: Nico Wills Cornbury

Ace memoir of the week: Paul Carrack, How Long: 50th Anniversary Tour 2024, York Barbican, September 14, 7.30pm

IN 1974, Sheffield musician Paul Carrack was in “fun London band” Ace when he penned How Long, a song that would reach number three in the US Billboard Hot 100 and the Top 20 in the UK Singles Chart. Phil Collins named it among his top ten favourites in a 1981 issue of Smash Hits.

“How Long is probably the first song I wrote,” recalls Carrack, now 73. “I wrote the song about a real situation, a situation that many people could relate to. Little did I know that it would become a classic and touch the hearts of so many.”  His 50th anniversary tour takes a journey through his career, from his days with Ace, Squeeze and Mike + The Mechanics to his solo years. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.

Alchemy Live: In Dire Straits in Helmsley

Tribute gig of the week: Alchemy Live, A Tribute To Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits, Helmsley Arts Centre, September 14, 8pm

FORMED in 2022 by frontman Martin Ledger, Yorkshire band Alchemy Live bring together a group of professional players and friends that shares a common love of the music of Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits.

Alchemy Live are “all about the music, no lookalike competitions here”, re-creating the Dire Straits sound as accurately as possible. Every guitar solo is taken from a specific show and reproduced note for note. “Close your eyes and you’re right there, at the Hammersmith Odeon back in 1983,” says Ledger. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

Historian and author Dan Jones

Book event of the week: Kemps Presents Dan Jones, Henry V: The Astonishing Rise Of England’s Greatest Warrior King, Milton Rooms, Malton, September 17, 7.30pm

HISTORIAN, television presenter, journalist, podcaster and author Dan Jones says he has been waiting to write Henry V’s biography for many years on account of Agincourt victor Henry being considered as the pinnacle and paragon of medieval kingship, both his own time and for centuries thereafter.  

Jones will discuss “one of the most intriguing characters in all medieval history, but one of the hardest to pin down” and sign copies of the book post-discussion. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.  

Charlie Parr: Showcasing blues and folk songs of community and communing with nature at Pocklington Arts Centre

Troubadour of the week: Charlie Parr, Pocklington Arts Centre, September 19, 8pm

RAISED in Austin, Texas, and now living in the Lake Superior port town of Duluth, folk troubadour and bluesman poet Charlie Parr has recorded 19 albums since 2002, this year releasing Little Sun, full of stories celebrating music, community and communing with nature.

Taking to the road between shows, this American guitarist, songwriter, and interpreter of traditional music writes and rewrites songs as he plays, drawing on the sights and sounds around him, his lyrical craftsmanship echoing the works of his working-class upbringing, notably Folkways legends Lead Belly and Woody Guthrie. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

Iago Banet: Fingerstyle acoustic guitarist plays solo in Helmsley. Picture: Sue Rainbow

Guitarist of the week: Iago Banet, Helmsley Arts Centre, September 20, 8pm

IAGO Banet, “the Galician King of Acoustic Guitar” from northern Spain, visits Helmsley on the back of releasing his third album, the self-explanatory Tres, in 2023.

Featured on BCC Radio 2’s The Blues Show With Cerys Matthews, this solo fingerstyle acoustic guitarist has played such festivals as Brecon Jazz, Hellys International Guitar Festival and Aberjazz, displaying skill, complexity and versatility in his fusion of gypsy jazz, blues, Americana, country, Dixieland, swing, pop and folk. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

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More Things To Do in York and beyond, from a love letter to theatre to a teatime tiger. Hutch’s List No. 36, from The Press

York actress Frances Marshall in rehearsal for Alan Ayckbourn’s 90th play, Show & Tell at the SJT. Picture: Tony Bartholomew

ALAN Ayckbourn’s 90th play and the Fangfest arts weekend lead Charles Hutchinson’s recommendations for the weeks ahead.

Premiere of the week: Alan Ayckbourn’s Show & Tell, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, September 5 to October 5

BILL Champion, Paul Kemp, Frances Marshall, Richard Stacey and Olivia Woolhouse will be the cast for the 90th play by Scarborough writer-director Alan Ayckbourn, a love letter to theatre. 

In a delightfully dark farce that lifts the lid on the performances we act out on a daily basis, Jack is planning a big party for his wife’s birthday. Pulling out all the stops, he has booked a touring theatre company to perform in the main hall of the family home. Unfortunately, Jack is becoming forgetful in his old age, rendering him unable to remember all the details of the booking.

The Homelight Theatre Company is on its knees, desperately needing a well-paid gig – and Jack’s booking is very well paid. Pinning him down on the details has been tricky, however, and something does not feel quite right. Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.

Mealtime mayhem in The Tiger Who Came To Tea at the Grand Opera House, York

Children’s show of the week: Nicoll Entertainment presents The Tiger Who Came To Tea, Grand Opera House, York, today and tomorrow, 11.30am and 2.30pm

JUDITH Kerr’s picture-book story The Tiger Who Came To Tea is celebrating 15 years on stage in writer-director David Wood’s 55-minute production that returns to York this weekend, exactly a year on from its last visit.

The doorbell rings just as Sophie and her mummy are sitting down to tea. Who could it possibly be? What they don’t expect to greet at the door is a big, stripey, tea-guzzling tiger in a family show packed with oodles of magic, sing-a-long songs and clumsy chaos! Age guidance: three upwards. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Allied Air Forces Memorial Day at the Yorkshire Air Museum, pictured in 2023

We will remember them: Allied Air Forces Memorial Day, Yorkshire Air Museum, Halifax Way, Elvington, near York, tomorrow (Sunday), from 1.45pm

THE Yorkshire Military Marching Band will lead the 1.45pm parade featuring standard bearers from 16 Royal British Legion and RAF Association branches in one of the biggest events in the museum’s calendar.

Representatives of the RAF will join with counterparts from the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and France in honouring the bravery and sacrifices of the allied air crews who flew from the airfield during the Second World War, many of whom did not survive. The day will climax with a 2.15pm service in the main hangar, under the nose of Halifax Bomber Friday the 13th. Open to museum visitors and invited guests.

Busted: Concluding the 2024 season at Scarborough Open Air Theatre on Saturday

Coastal gig of the week: Busted, Scarborough Open Air Theatre, today, gates open at 6pm

BUSTED close Cuffe & Taylor’s summer of outdoor gigs in Scarborough 22 years after first bouncing into the charts with the pop-punk energy of What I Go To School For and a year on from releasing Greatest Hits 2.0, an album of re-recorded hits with guests to mark the reunion of James Bourne, Matt Willis and Charlie Simpson.

Expect number one smashes Crashed The Wedding, Who’s David, Thunderbirds Are Go and You Said No to feature in Saturday’s set list, along with Year 3000, Air Hostess, Sleeping With The Lights. Support comes from Skinny Living and Soap. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com/busted.

William Dalrymple: Reflecting on India’s impact on the ancient world in his Grand Opera House talk

History talk of the week: William Dalrymple, How Ancient India Transformed the World, Grand Opera House, York, September 2, 7.30pm

HISTORIAN William Dalrymple, co-host of the Empire podcast, tells the story of how, from 250BC to 1200AD, India transformed the world: exporting religion, art, science, medicine and language along a Golden Road that stretched from the Red Sea to the Pacific, creating a vast and profoundly important empire of ideas.

Dalrymple explores how Indian ideas crossed political borders and influenced everything they touched, from the statues in Roman seaports to the Buddhism of Japan, the poetry of China to the mathematics of Baghdad. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Kiri Pritchard-McLean: Tales of a foster parent in her Peacock show at Pocklington Arts Centre

Comedy gig of the week: Kiri Pritchard-McLean: Peacock, Pocklington Arts Centre, September 5, 8pm

KIRI Pritchard-McLean has had a busy few years, hosting Live At The Apollo, fronting the BBC Radio 4 panel show Best Medicine, co-hosting the All Killa No Filla podcast, starting a comedy school and becoming a foster parent. 

After a couple of the eggiest gigs of her career in boardrooms, a show about being a foster carer has been signed off, wherein she lifts the lid on social workers, first aid training and what not to do when a vicar searches for you on YouTube. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

Story Craft Theatre’s Cassie Vallance, left, and Janet Bruce: Making their Fangfest debut with  a magical and adventurous story for two to eight-year-olds, featuring music, games and puppetry, on both days at 2.30pm in the Fangfoss Hall orchard

Festival of the week: Fangfest Festival of Practical Arts, Fangfoss, near York, September 7 and 8. 10am to 4pm

THE annual Fangfest returns with its celebration of traditional and contemporary art and craft skills as creatives, businesses and charities gather next weekend.

The event features a flower festival, vintage and veteran cars, archery, Stamford Bridge History Society, music on the green, the Story Craft Theatre Company, a teddy bear trail, produce stalls and free craft activities, as well as 30 working craft exhibitors and workshops in needle felting, wood carving, spinning and embroidery. Entry to Fangfest is free; parking is £2 per vehicle in aid of Friends of St Martin’s School.

Bjorn Again: Thanking Abba for the music at York Barbican and Connexin Live, Hull, on their 2025 tour

Gig announcement of the week: Bjorn Again, York Barbican, September 28 2025, and Connexin Live, Hull, October 29 2025

AFTER festival appearances at Wilderness and Glastonbury this summer, Bjorn Again announce a British and Irish tour from September 26 to November 2 2025, taking in York Barbican on the third night and Connexin Live, Hull, a month later.

Founded in 1988 in Melbourne by Australianmusician/manager Rod Stephen, the tribute show carries the endorsement of Abba’s own Agnetha Fältskog. Designed as a tongue-in-cheek, rocked-up, light-hearted ABBA satire, the show is in its 37th year, having seen more than 100 musicians and vocalists and 400 technical crew/support staff contribute to 5,500 performances in 75 countries. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk and connexinlivehull.com.

In Focus: 60 songs, 50 years, four concerts, two nights, add up to Elvis Costello & Steve Nieve at Leeds City Varieties Music Hall

Elvis Costello: 60 songs from 50 years in four shows in two nights at Leeds City Varieties Music Hall in September

ELVIS Costello brings his new career-spanning presentation, 15 Songs From 50 Years, to Leeds City Varieties on September 2 and 3 for four unique performances over two days, all sold out.

Walking in the footsteps of Harry Houdini and beyond the long shadow of Charlie Chaplin, Frank Carson and Leonard Sachs at the Swan Street music hall, Costello will be joined at each 75-minute show by keyboard player Steve Nieve, his long-serving, Royal College of Music-trained  cohort in The Attractions and The Imposters.

Each day, the 7pm soiree will feature an entirely different repertoire to the 9.30pm set list, the songs being selected from each of the five decades of Costello’s songwriting, whether solo or in the company of Flip City; American country rock band Clover; The Attractions; Squeeze’s Chris Difford;  The Coward Brothers, with T-Bone Burnett; the Confederates; Paul McCartney; the Brodsky Quartet; The Imposters; Burt Bacharach, Allen Toussaint or the Roots.

A 15-song programme will be printed in advance of each concert with few, if any repeats anticipated but with the possibility of impromptu choices along the way. Costello. 69, and Nieve, 66, very occasionally take requests but should never be mistaken for a jukebox.

The third and fourth performances, on the second day, will “propose a deuce of delights”: two entirely different 15-song set-lists selected from half a century of popular songwriting craft.

“Leeds City Varieties Music Hall has always been known for magic, melody, mirth and mayhem,” says Elvis Costello

“The four shows are guaranteed to feature 60 different songs, but we suspect this is just the start,” predicts the shows’ publicity machine.

Those who wanted to attend all four contrasting shows in this exclusive engagement were able to obtain a special season ticket to include premium seats for each show in the front rows or boxes with exclusive use of the bar in between shows.

Asked about the involvement of his perennial cohort, Steve Nieve, Costello said: “Well, to paraphrase John Lennon, Steve Nieve will ‘leap over horses, through hoops, up garters and lastly, through a hogshead of real fire’ to bring his particular brand of musical magnificence to these performances.”

Costello added: “The City Varieties Music Hall has always been known for magic, melody, mirth and mayhem. These are all well within our grasp. By the way, had my father not taken a trumpet-playing engagement in London, just before my arrival into this world, I would have been a Chapeltown boy and this would be my hometown gig.“

In the wortds of the City Varieties blurb: “Unsurpassed in variety and voluminosity, Costello’s renowned refrains, romances, broadsides, bulletins and ballads are perfectly matched by Steve Nieve’s pulchritudinous and pulsating piano playing.

“The paragon of the profound and the peculiar, these premier performers present a penetrating pageant for perceptive and perspicacious patrons.”

For ticket updates on late availability, visit leedsheritagetheatres.com/whats-on/costello-and-nieve-2024.

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York String Quartet to play at World of James Herriot’s 25th anniversary dinner at Garden Room, Tennants, in Leyburn

York String Quartet: Performing at the World of James Herriot’s 25th anniverrsary gala dinner in October

YORK String Quartet will play at the World of James Herriot’s 25th Anniversary Black Tie Dinner at The Garden Rooms, at Tennants, Leyburn, on October 5.

The 6.45pm to 11.45pm event will feature a live performance by tenor Sean Ruane too. Special guests will include late author James Herriot’s son and daughter, Jim Wight and Rosie Page, family and friends and Yorkshire Vet and Channel 5 TV teams, hosted by BBC Radio York’s Elly Fiorentini. Fans from Australia, Belgium, Ireland, Germany, Japan and the USA will be attending. 

Managing director Ian Ashton said: “The 25th anniversary gala dinner will be a fabulous evening and it’s especially pleasing that it will bring together so many family, friends, fans and colleagues of Alf Wight, some of whom will have travelled thousands of miles for the event.

“It all adds up to a fantastic tribute to a very special man, vet and author and to the vision of the then Hambleton District Council in setting up the attraction in his original surgery and home in 1999, following the Skeldale surgery’s move to new premises.” 

Tenor Sean Ruane

The 25th anniversary coincides with the attraction recording record numbers of visitors of around 43,000 in the past year, up from around 15,000 when the attraction was taken over to be run as a private sector business in 2012. 

 “Alf’s books, films and TV series were the biggest thing to ever have happened to promote the dales and moors of North Yorkshire, which have become world renowned as ‘Herriot Country’,” said Ian.

“The recent Yorkshire Vet and remake of All Creatures Great And Small TV series have contributed in no small measure to the continuing success of his legacy, which would probably not have happened had the attraction closed in 2012.”

A fund-raising auction will be held during the evening and proceeds from the event will be donated to Herriot Hospice Homecare

Alf Wight, author James Herriot, after receiving his OBE

Looking forward to the gala, Jim Wight and Rosie Page said: “This is a lovely opportunity to celebrate our father’s legacy and to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the opening of the World of James Herriot. Our father would be proud to be associated with this initiative and we are delighted that the dinner has been organised and supported by so many friends and colleagues.” 

Alf Wight’s stories, based on his experiences of being a young veterinary surgeon who worked among the North Yorkshire farming communities, have sold in their millions and have touched readers from all over the world. 

James Alfred Wight was born on October 3 1916 in Sunderland (at his mother Hannah’s former home before she married Alf’s father James in July 1915). When Alf was only three weeks old, the family moved back to their own home in Glasgow and Alf remained there for most of his young life.

In December 1939, at the age of 23, Alf qualified as a veterinary surgeon with the Glasgow Veterinary College, taking on a brief post in January 1940 in a veterinary practice in Sunderland. He moved on in July 1940 to work in the rural practice of Donald J Sinclair in Thirsk, located close to the sweeping hills and rich valleys of the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors National Parks, where he remained for the rest of his life, writing under the name of James Herriot. 

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Scatterbrain Shaparak Khorsandi takes whirlwind tour of her ‘sometimes frantic’ mind at Scarborough, Hull and Farsley

Shaparak Khorsandi: “Letting you back into her mind after ADHD diagnosis”

AFTER reassessing her life through the prism of an ADHD diagnosis in last year’s Fringe show, ShapChat, and her Scatter Brain memoir, Shaparak Khorsandi lets you back into her mind in her new show at Scarborough’s Stephen Joseph Theatre on October 2.

“Warning: it’s cluttered in there,” says the 51-year-old British Comedy Award-nominated comedian, raconteur, I’m A Celebrity contestant and author of fiction and non-fiction.

Among other things, her Scatterbrain show will be a love letter to letter-writing, a trip back through Khorsandi’s early years as a comic and woman-about-town, and a whirlwind tour of her “hilarious and sometimes frantic brain”. At least, it might be, given the promise of “delightfully shambolic” comedy.

As the tour publicity puts it: “Although it might not be remembered by Shaparak herself, that’s part of how ADHD works. And actually, we’ll probably check in with her in case she’s decided to start a career as an antique furniture expert instead.

“The diagnosis has helped Shaparak make sense of many aspects of her behaviour and personality, as movingly chronicled in Scatter Brain (subtitled How I Finally Got Off The ADHD Rollercoaster To Become The Owner Of A Very Tidy Sock Drawer, published by Penguin Books).  

“In this national tour of the same name, a woman who deserves the tag of national treasure uses her newly liberated mind as a springboard for a comedic rollercoaster ride.” 

Impatient Productions present Shaparak Khorsandi: Scatterbrain, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, October 2, 7.45pm. Box office: 01723 370541or sjt.uk.com. Khorsandi’s 23-date September 11 to December 3 tour also visits Hull Truck Theatre, October 3, 7.30pm, and Old Woollen, Farsley, Leeds, October 16, 8pm. Box office: Hull, 01482 323638 or hulltruck.co.uk; Farsley, oldwoollen.co.uk.

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What’s On in Ryedale, York & beyond when Ayckbourn delivers love letter to theatre. Hutch’s List No.31, from Gazette & Herald

York actress Frances Marshall in rehearsal for Alan Ayckbourn’s 90th play, Show &Tell. Picture: Tony Bartholomew

ALAN Ayckbourn’s 90th play and the Fangfest arts weekend lead Charles Hutchinson’s recommendations for the weeks ahead.

Premiere of the week: Alan Ayckbourn’s Show & Tell, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, September 5 to October 5

BILL Champion, Paul Kemp, Frances Marshall, Richard Stacey and Olivia Woolhouse will be the cast for the 90th play by Scarborough writer-director Alan Ayckbourn, a love letter to theatre entitled Show & Tell.

In a delightfully dark farce that lifts the lid on the performances we act out on a daily basis, Jack is planning a big party for his wife’s birthday. Pulling out all the stops, he has booked a touring theatre company to perform in the main hall of the family home. Unfortunately, Jack is becoming forgetful in his old age, rendering him unable to remember all the details of the booking.

The Homelight Theatre Company is on its knees, desperately needing a well-paid gig – and Jack’s booking is very well paid. Pinning him down on the details has been tricky, however and something does not feel quite right. Box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com.

Allied Air Forces Memorial Day at the Yorkshire Air Museum, pictured in 2023

We will remember them: Allied Air Forces Memorial Day, Yorkshire Air Museum, Halifax Way, Elvington, near York, Sunday, from 1.45pm

THE Yorkshire Military Marching Band will lead the 1.45pm parade featuring standard bearers from 16 Royal British Legion and RAF Association branches in one of the biggest events in the museum’s calendar.

Representatives of the RAF will join with counterparts from the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and France in honouring the bravery and sacrifices of the allied air crews who flew from the airfield during the Second World War, many of whom did not survive. The day will climax with a 2.15pm service in the main hangar, under the nose of Halifax Bomber Friday the 13th. Open to museum visitors and invited guests.

Busted: Concluding the 2024 season at Scarborough Open Air Theatre on Saturday

Coastal gig of the week: Busted, Scarborough Open Air Theatre, Saturday, gates open at 6pm

BUSTED close Cuffe & Taylor’s summer of outdoor gigs in Scarborough 22 years after first bouncing into the charts with the pop-punk energy of What I Go To School For and a year on from releasing Greatest Hits 2.0, an album of re-recorded hits with guests to mark the reunion of James Bourne, Matt Willis and Charlie Simpson.

Expect number one smashes Crashed The Wedding, Who’s David, Thunderbirds Are Go and You Said No to feature in Saturday’s set list, along with Year 3000, Air Hostess, Sleeping With The Lights On, Loser Kid and Everything I Knew. Support comes from Skinny Living and Soap. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com/busted.

William Dalrymple: Reflecting on India’s impact on the ancient world in his Grand Opera House talk

History talk of the week: William Dalrymple, How Ancient India Transformed the World, Grand Opera House, York, September 2, 7.30pm

HISTORIAN William Dalrymple, co-host of the Empire podcast, tells the story of how, from 250BC to 1200AD, India transformed the world: exporting religion, art, science, medicine and language along a Golden Road that stretched from the Red Sea to the Pacific, creating a vast and profoundly important empire of ideas.

Dalrymple explores how Indian ideas crossed political borders and influenced everything they touched, from the statues in Roman seaports to the Buddhism of Japan, the poetry of China to the mathematics of Baghdad. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.

Kiri Pritchard-McLean: Tales of a foster parent in her Peacock show at Pocklington Arts Centre

Comedy gig of the week: Kiri Pritchard-McLean: Peacock, Pocklington Arts Centre, September 5, 8pm

KIRI Pritchard-McLean has had a busy few years, hosting Live At The Apollo, fronting the BBC Radio 4 panel show Best Medicine, co-hosting the All Killa No Filla podcast, starting a comedy school and becoming a foster parent. 

After a couple of the eggiest gigs of her career in boardrooms to social workers, a show about being a foster carer has been signed off, wherein she lifts the lid on social workers, first aid training and what not to do when a vicar searches for you on YouTube. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

Tribute acts at the treble: Coldplay It Again, Stereoconics and Oasis Here Now re-heat the hits at Milton Rooms, Malton

Tribute gig of the week: Coldplay It Again, Stereoconics and Oasis Here Now, Milton Rooms, Malton, September 7, 7pm

THIS tribute triple bill brings together Coldplay It Again replicating the look, sound and spirit of a Colplay show, Stereoconics’ faithful versions of Stereophonics’  songs and Oasis Here Now’s devotion to the style and swagger of Oasis in their Nineties’ heyday, just as the Gallagher brothers announce their first gigs since 2009 for next summer. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.

Gerry Grant: Demonstrating Raku firing at Fangfoss Pottery

Festival of the week: Fangfest Festival of Practical Arts, Fangfoss, near York, September 7 and 8. 10am to 4pm

TWENTY-FIVE years on from its inception, the annual Fangfest returns with its celebration of traditional and contemporary art and craft skills as creatives, businesses and charities gather next weekend.

The festival features a flower festival, vintage and veteran cars, archery, Stamford Bridge History Society, music on the green, the Story Craft Theatre Company, a teddy bear trail, produce stalls and free craft activities, as well as 30 working craft exhibitors and workshops in needle felting, wood carving, spinning and embroidery. Entry to Fangfest is free; parking is £2 per vehicle in aid of Friends of St Martins School.

Bjorn Again: Thanking Abba for the music in York and Hull on their 2025 tour

Gig announcement of the week: Bjorn Again, York Barbican, September 28 2025, and Connexin Live, Hull, October 29 2025

AFTER festival appearances at Wilderness and Glastonbury this summer, Bjorn Again announce a British and Irish tour from September 26 to November 2 2025, taking in York Barbican on the third night and Connexin Live, Hull.

Founded in 1988 in Melbourne by Australianmusician/manager Rod Stephen, the tribute show carries the endorsement of Abba’s own Agnetha Fältskog. Designed as a tongue-in-cheek, rocked-up, light-hearted ABBA satire, the show is in its 37th year, having seen more than 100 musicians and vocalists and 400 technical crew/support staff contribute to 5,500 performances in 75 countries. Tickets go on sale on Friday at 10am at yorkbarbican.co.uk and connexinlivehull.com.

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What’s On in Ryedale, York and beyond, from Discworld lecture to Nineties’ disco. Hutch’s List No. 30, from Gazette & Herald

The Magic Of Terry Pratchett: Marc Burrows discusses the Discworld author at Pocklington Arts Centre

THE summer festival season enters the final furlong with the focus turning to the new season ahead, as Charles Hutchinson highlights.

Discworld comes to Pock: Marc Burrows, The Magic Of Terry Pratchett, Pocklington Arts Centre, October 17, 7.30pm

AUTHOR, comedian and super-fan Marc Burrows bases his Edinburgh Fringe hit lecture The Magic Of Terry Pratchett on his Locus Award-winning biography, officially endorsed by the author’s estate, to mark the 40th anniversary of the Discworld books.

Taking a journey through the life and work of Sir Terry Pratchett OBE, he explores his influence, impact, wit and wisdom, from Pratchett’s days as a school librarian, through his time as a trainee journalist, to his untimely death from Alzheimer’s in 2015. Box office: 01759 301547 or pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

So 90’s: Disco party time at Milton Rooms, Malton

Disco world comes to Malton: So 90’s with DJ Matt Vinyl and the So 90’s Dancers, Milton Rooms, Malton, August 30, 8pm

FROM S Club to Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys to Robbie Williams, Cascada to Gala, the best 1990s’ pop, dance, cheese and Ibiza club anthems are celebrated in this disco party with visual effects, live choreographed performances, DJs and interactive competitions and giveaways. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.

Lord Of The Dance: “Aiming to leave the audience spellbound” at York Barbican

Dance show of the week: Michael Flatley’s Lord Of The Dance, York Barbican, today until Sunday, 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.

Living History Weekend: The past comes alive at Eden Camp this weekend

Family fun day out of the week: Living History Weekend at Eden Camp Modern History Museum, Edenhouse Road, Old Malton, today and tomorrow, 10am to 5pm

STEP back in time to be immersed in history at Eden Camp, where the past comes alive with re-enactors around every corner, from captivating displays to engaging talks and activities galore. You can meet with medics; try your hand at authentic ration recipes; explore the intricate details of a Sherman tank and groove to live music in the engine shed. Dressing up in 1940s’ fashion is encouraged. Tickets: edencamp.digitickets.co.uk/tickets. 

Liam Gallagher: Headlining Friday’s bill at Leeds Festival, playing Oasis’s debut album Definitely Maybe in full. Picture: Leeds Festival website

Festival of the week: Leeds Festival, Bramham Park, near Leeds, Friday to Sunday

LIAM Gallagher and Catfish And The Bottlemen headline the first day of Leeds Festival, when 21 Savage, Pendulum, Skrillex, NIA Archives, Beabadoobee and Ashnikoo are further attractions. Blink 182 and Gerry Cinnamon top Saturday’s bill, when Two Door Cinema Club, The Prodigy and Jorja Smith perform too.

Sunday has Fred Again and Lana Del Rey on headline duty, backed up by Raye, Fontaines DC, Bleachers and The Last Dinner Party. Look out too for Sonny Fodera and The Wombats. Box office: leedsfestival.com/tickets.

Lana Del Rey: Playing the Leeds Festival main stage at 7.30pm on Sunday. Picture: Leeds Festival website

York gig of the week: New York Brass Band, Big Summer Party, The Crescent, York, Saturday, doors 7.30pm

YORK’S top brass come together for an evening of big, bangin’, brassy tunes at The Crescent, featuring a seven or eight-piece line-up of percussion, saxophone, trumpets, trombones, guitar and sousaphone.

Taking inspiration from contemporary New Orleans musicians, the New York Brass Band will be in party mood after summer festivals appearances at Glastonbury and Latitude. Box office: thecrescentyork.com.

New York Brass Band: Back home in old York after the summer festival season

Coastal gig of the week: Becky Hill, Scarborough Open Air Theatre, August 29, gates 6pm

BRIT Award-winning Becky Hillis a pop powerhouse with a reputation as a pioneer in electronic music, not least in her collaborations in the dance-pop genre with everyone from David Guetta to Little Simz over the past decade.

Hill has written or performed on 17 UK Top 40 singles, including five top ten singles and a number one, amassing more than four billion streams on Spotify. Box office: scarboroughopenairtheatre.com.

Steve Cassidy: Playing with his band and friends at Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York

New amid the familiar: Steve Cassidy Band & Friends, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, September 1, 7.30pm

YORK’S Steve Cassidy Band return to their favourite venue, where three-time New Faces winner, singer, guitarist and songwriter Cassidy is joined by John Lewis on lead guitar, Mick Hull on bass guitar, ukulele and guitar, Brian Thompson on drums and George Hall on keyboards.

Expect a few special guests throughout an entertaining night of rock, country and instrumental music, plus new pieces prepared specifically for this concert. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

Robyn Hitchcock: Heading to The Crescent, York

Art rocker returns: Robyn Hitchcock, The Crescent, York, September 1, 7.30pm

IN a career spanning six decades, Robyn Hitchcock remains a one-of-a-kind artist: surrealist rock’n’roller, acoustic troubadour, poet, painter and writer.

From The Soft Boys’ art-rock and The Egyptians’ Dadaist pop to such solo masterpieces as 1984’s I Often Dream Of Trains and 1990’s Eye, Hitchcock has crafted songs with recurring references to marine life, obsolete electric transport, ghosts and cheese. Tickets for this seated show are on sale at thecrescentyork.com.

Olivia Graham: Performing in the style of the Celtic bards of old at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York. Picture: Richard Gatecliffe

Come, all ye old souls and dreamers: Olivia Graham, An Evening In Avalon, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, September 6, 7.30pm

CELTIC folk musician Olivia Graham delivers a spellbinding evening of enchanting music, woven through the tales of Morgan Le Fay and other legendary figures from across the British Isles.

Performed in the style of the Celtic bards of old, An Evening In Avalon embarks on a magical journey through Ancient Ireland, Dark Age Britain and even the elusive shores of mystical Avalon itself. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.

Two pictures, but only one Snake Davis, playing alone at Helmsleyt Arts Centre

Saxophone solo: Snake Davis, Helmsley Arts Centre, September 6, 7.30pm

SAXOPHONIST Snake Davis will be on his own in this informal acoustic evening of music and chat in two parts. Not really on his own, he clarifies, because in Part One he will have his musical instrument family with him: myriad saxophones plus flutes, whistles, steel handpan, didgeridoo and the Japanese Shakuhachi. Relaxed and intimate, questions are encouraged. 

In Part Two, the focus is on My Greatest Hits, highlighting his work as sax hired gun to the stars, adding Olly Murs and Shania Twain to the list this year after sax solos in Take That’s Million Love Songs, M-People’s Moving On Up and Search For The Hero, Lisa Stansfield’s Change and The Office theme tune. Playing them in context, he will tell the stories behind them. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.

There’s no bursting Andy Parsons’ balloon: Comedian will be “Bafflingly Optimistic” at JoRo Theatre this autumn

Comedy gig announcement of the week: Andy Parsons: Bafflingly Optimistic, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, October 11

DESPITE everything that Great Britain has had to face in recent years, Mock The Week lynchpin, Stacktivist Action Group podcaster and comedian Andy Parsons has found cause to be optimistic.

“I think there are reasons to be hopeful,” says Parsons, 55. “It’s not a depressing show.  The positive side is the pandemic is over, we are statistically more united as a nation than it might seem. And despite what you’ve heard, comics are not being cancelled.” Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.

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York Georgian Festival: what’s coming up from today to Saturday for fans of the era?

York Georgian Festival: for fans of fans and the period alike

THE second York Georgian Festival runs from today to Sunday, buoyed by an “overwhelming turnout” and VisitYork Tourism Awards nomination for last August’s inaugural event.

Day one’s highlight, Horrible Histories author Terry Deary’s 6pm showcase of his new book, A History Of Britain In Ten Enemies, has sold out.

In response to much demand, the festival will host the first York Georgian Ball at the Grand Assembly Rooms, now home to the ASK Italian restaurant, in Blake Street, on Saturday at 7pm. This ballroom played host to dances and dinners in the 18th and 19th centuries, and now guests will be dressed in their finest as they country-dance under the chandeliers this weekend.

Further festival highlights will be tours, talks and the chance to discover hidden Georgian gems across the city.

Festival creator Sarah White, events and marketing manager for York Mansion House, says: “I am delighted to be working with some of the most beautiful museums, venues and minds in York to bring this festival to life. We want to showcase the impact of this time period on the modern day, and we also want to dance the night away.”

Many events are pre-book only. For tickets, go to: yorkgeorgianfestival.co.uk.

The festival programme

Terry Deary: Introducing his new book this evening

Thursday

10am:  Behind the Scenes Curator Tour, at Fairfax House.

10am to 3pm (pre-bookable tours available): Tours and Tea for Charity at York Medical Society, 23 Stonegate.

10am to 5pm (last admission 4pm): Discover the “illegal chapel” at Bar Convent Living Heritage Centre.

10.30am to 5pm (last admission 4pm): Hobs Go Georgian, a fun family trail at York Mansion House.  Free with admission.

11.30am: 18th century cooking demonstration, York Mansion House. Free with admission.

11.30am: Blood, Guts and Bedlam Tour, from York Medical Society.

2.30pm: Dressing a Georgian Lady, York Mansion House. Free with admission.

4pm: Rogues Gallery Tour with Mad Alice, around the city.

6pm: Terry Deary previews his new book, A History of Britain in Ten Enemies. SOLD OUT.

7pm: Mad Alice History Talk and Gin Tasting, at Impossible York bar.

Friday

10am to 5pm (last admission 4pm): Discover the “illegal chapel” at Bar Convent Living Heritage Centre.

10am to 3pm (pre-bookable tours available): Tours and Tea for Charity at York Medical Society, 23 Stonegate.

10.30am: Georgian Dance Class at the Guildhall.

10.30am to 5pm (last admission 4pm): Hobs Go Georgian: a fun family trail at York Mansion House. Free with admission.

11.30am: 18th century cooking demonstration, York Mansion House. Free with admission.

11.30am: Blood, Guys and Bedlam Tour, from York Medical Society.

2.30pm: Fan language, York Mansion House. Free with admission.

4pm: Rogues Gallery Tour, with Mad Alice, around the city.

7.30pm: Bridgerton by Candlelight, Ignite Concerts. SOLD OUT.

Saturday

10am to 5pm (last admission 4pm): Discover the “illegal chapel” at Bar Convent Living Heritage Centre.

10.30am to 5pm (last admission 4pm): Hobs Go Georgian, a fun family trail at York Mansion House. Free with admission.

11am: Regency Rejigged dance performance, St Helen’s Square.

11.30am: 18th century cooking demonstration, York Mansion House. Free with admission.

2pm: Regency Rejigged dance performance, St Helen’s Square.

2pm: Anatomy of a Ball, Barley Hall Coffee Shop.

2.30pm:  Dressing a Georgian Lady, York Mansion House. Free with admission.

3pm: Regency Rejigged dance performance, St Helen’s Square.

4pm: The Raree Show of The Fox Trap’t, Holy Trinity Church, Goodramgate. SOLD OUT.

4pm: The Rogues Gallery Tour, with Mad Alice, around the city.

5pm: Family Walking Tour: A Day in the Life of Jane Ewbank, with York Georgian Society, starting from St Helen’s Square.

7pm: The York Georgian Ball, at Grand Assembly Rooms.

Sunday

10.30am to 1pm:  Hobs Go Georgian: a fun family trail at York Mansion House. Free with admission.

11am: Regency Rejigged dance performance, St Helen’s Square.

11.30am: 18th century cooking demonstration, York Mansion House. Free with admission.

1pm: Uncovering The Parrot: A Forgotten Women-Led Satirical Periodical of the 18th Century at York Mansion House. SOLD OUT. York Mansion House will be closed temporarily from 12.30pm to 2.20pm to accommodate this ticketed event.

2pm: Regency Rejigged dance performance, St Helen’s Square.

2.30pm: Fan language, York Mansion House. Free with admission.

4pm: Rogues Gallery Tour, with Mad Alice, around the city.

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