YORK street photographer Alison Jagger is the second artist selected by RARE Collective to exhibit at WET Bar & Plates, in Micklegate, York.
“Yorkshire born and bred, Alison has always had a deep connection with all forms of art,” says exhibition curator and York artist Sharon McDonagh. “However her main passion lies in street photography.”
As a solo traveller and self-confessed free spirit, Jagger draws inspiration from the urban landscape, whose vibrancy she loves to capture with her camera.
High Five, by Alison Jagger
“There is nothing better than waking up in an unfamiliar city and recording its character, colour and vibrancy through my curious lens,” says Alison, whose eye for detail and distinctive style has been featured in many online exhibitions.
The RARE Collective’s ongoing programme of solo exhibition at James Wall and Ella Williams’ indie wine bar and restaurant is run in aid of SASH (Safe and Sound Homes), the York youth homelessness charity.
First up was Leeds abstract surrealist Nicholas Dixon’s RARE v WET show; now After The Crowds will run until June 3.
ONLINE sensation, comedian and author Daniel Foxx will bring his new stand-up show, How Lovely, to Pocklington Arts Centre on October 31.
Best known for his viral comedy sketches, Foxx has amassed millions of views across social media. His on-screen appearances span BBC One, BBC Three, ITV and Comedy Central and he has appeared live as tour support for Josh Widdicombe, Rosie Jones and Judi Love.
In How Lovely, Foxx dives into life post-Big Breakup, navigating the realities of dating in your 30s, a rising Le Creuset obsession and the pursuit of the perfect 12-step skincare routine, all while trying hard to emanate love and light.
Foxx’s debut show, Villain, toured internationally, including a sell-out run at New York’s SoHo Playhouse and London’s Clapham Grand, and his latest show will look to build on that momentum.
Foxx’s appearance adds to a packed 2026 comedy programme at Pocklington Arts Centre, where upcoming shows include Andy Parsons’ Please #@!$ To Mars on May 22 (8pm); Rich Hall’s Chin Music, June 10 (8pm), Hal Cruttenden’s Can Dish It Out But Can’t Take It, June 12 and 13 (7.30pm); Neil Delamere in Reinventing The Neil, July 30 (7.30pm) and PAC Comedy Club, featuring Rob Deering, Eleanor Tiernan, Oliver Bowler and Tom Wrigglesworth, October 1 (8pm).
Further dates for the diary are: Ignacio Lopez in Nada, October 3 (8pm); Simon Evans in Staring At The Sun, October 21 (7.30pm); Tez Ilyas’s Tez Things I Hate About You, October 23 (8pm) and Brian Bilston’s How To Lay An Egg With A Horse Inside, November 14, 7.30pm.
Pocklington Arts Centre’s Comedy Festival will take place on May 30, opening with Seeta Wrightson’s work-in-progress Fringe Preview of Middling at 1pm, followed by Out Of The Box at 2pm and Brennan Reece’s work-in-progress Fringe Preview of New Jokes at 2.45pm.
Marcel Lucont will present Les Enfants Terribles – A Game Show For Awful Children at 4pm. Then come Tom Neenan’s work-in-progress Fringe Preview at 4.30pm; Sarah Roberts’ work-in-progress Fringe Preview at 6.15pm and the Mixed Bill finale at 8pm, bringing together Lou Wall, Marcel Lucont, Tal Davies, Pravanya Pillay and Raj Poojara, hosted by Kiri Pritchard-McLean.
Eileen Walsh in rehearsal for her lead role as Sheila Gold in the world premiere of The Psychic at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Manuel Harlan
DYSON and Nyman’s world premiere dark thriller and women sporting Holmes & Watson waxed moustaches tickle Charles Hutchinson’s fancy in his recommendations for the week ahead.
World premiere of the week: The Psychic, York Theatre Royal, until May 23
“IS any of it real,” ask Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman in The Psychic, the latest spook-fest from the writer-director duo behind Ghost Stories. In their twisted new thriller, popular TV psychic Sheila Gold loses a high-profile court case that brands her a charlatan, costing her not only her reputation but also a fortune in legal fees.
When a wealthy couple ask Sheila to conduct a séance to attempt to make contact with their late child, she senses an opportunity to bleed them for money. What follows makes her question everything she has ever believed, leading her on a journey into the darkest corners of her life. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Writer-directors Andy Nyman, left, and Jeremy Dyson in the rehearsal room for The Psychic. Picture: Manuel Harlan
Cutting-edge music and art collaboration of the week: York Late Music presents Late Music Ensemble: Picture This!, Unitarian Chapel, St Saviourgate York, tonight, 7.30pm
INSPIRED by the relationship between visual art and music, Picture This! explores how composers have responded to artworks across time, from Modest Mussorgsky to the present day.
Today’s audience is invited on a promenade through an imagined exhibition, where works by Vincent van Gogh, Wassily Kandinsky, Bridget Riley and John Martin, alongside sculpture by Alexander Calder, are reflected in a musical programme featuring a new arrangement of Pictures At An Exhibition, Igor Stravinsky’s miniature tribute to Pablo Picasso, songs by Don van Vliet (Captain Beefheart) and David Byrne, plus new works. Nick Williams gives a pre-concert talk at 6.45pm. Tickets: latemusic.org or on the door.
Feeling his collar: Tom Davis in Spudgun, full of freshly cooked observations on life’s hot topics
Comedy gig of the week: Tom Davis in Spudgun, Grand Opera House, York, tonight, 7.30pm
CROYDON comedy turn, actor and podcaster Tom Davis is back on the road, firing out his freshly cooked observations on life’s hot topics. Co-host of the Wolf And Owl podcast with Romesh Ranganathan, star of BAFTA and Royal Television Society award-winning comedy series Murder In Successville and BBC One comedy King Gary, he also has his own Sky and NOW TV special, Underdog. “Get ready,” he says. “This one is fully loaded.” Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Hank, Pattie & The Current: Innovative twist on traditional bluegrass at Selby Town Hall
Bluegrass gig of the week: Hank, Pattie & The Current, Selby Town Hall, tonight, 7.30pm
HARD-HITTING bluegrass pickers who moonlight as symphonic classical musicians, Hank, Pattie & The Current approach their string band much as they would a string quartet. The Raleigh, North Carolina four-piece are led by Hank Smith’s banjo and Pattie Hopkins Kinlaw’s fiddle in an innovative twist on traditional bluegrass flavoured with classical, Motown, jazz and pop. Box office: 01757 708449 or selbytownhall.co.uk.
Steve Cassidy: Leading his band through rock and country numbers at the JoRo
Vintage performance of the week: Steve Cassidy Band, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, Sunday, 7.30pm
THE Steve Cassidy Band return to their favourite home-city venue with guests in tow for a night of rock and country music chosen to appeal to all age groups. Steve, a three-time winner on New Faces, recorded with John Barry as a teenager and performed on shows with legends of the music industry. His line-up features John Lewis, guitar, George Hall, keyboards, Mick Hull, bass, guitar and ukulele, and Brian Thomson, percussion. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Katherine Priddy: Showcasing new album These Frightening Machines at Pocklington Arts Centre
Folk gig of the week: Katherine Priddy, Pocklington Arts Centre, Sunday, 8pm
AFTER writing and recording two songs with Poet Laureate Simon Armitage and appearing on Later…With Jools Holland, Birmingham folk singer-songwriter Katherine Priddy released her third album, These Frightening Machines, in March on Cooking Vinyl.
Priddy’s new compositions explore what it means to keep going when things fall apart, to hold on to connections in a world that sometimes divides and to figure out where we fit into the machines and systems we find ourselves confronting. Northallerton singer-songwriter George Boomsma supports. Box office: pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.
Farewell tour for opera impresario and director Ellen Kent
Exit stage left: Ellen Kent, The Farewell Tour, Madama Butterfly, May 3, 7.30pm, and Carmen, May 4, 7.30pm, both at Grand Opera House, York
OPERA impresario and director Ellen Kent is on the road with her farewell tour, presented by Senbla, featuring Opera International Kyiv, from Ukraine, in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly and Bizet’s Carmen.
Sung in Italian with English surtitles, Madama Butterfly’s heart-breaking story of the beautiful young Japanese girl who falls in love with an American naval lieutenant will be led by sopranos Elena Dee and Viktoria Melnyk, mezzo-soprano Yelyzaveta Bielous and tenors Oleksii Srebnytskyi and Hovhannes Andreasyan. Sung in French with English surtitles, Carmen promises passion, sexual jealousy, death and unforgettable arias, performed by Dee, Melynk and Mariia Davydova. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Laura Castle’s Dr John Watson, left, and Laura McKeller’s Sherlock Holmes in Neon Crypt’s The Hound Of The Baskerville
Mystery thriller of the week: Neon Crypt in The Hound Of The Baskervilles, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, May 5 to 9, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
JOIN York company Neon Crypt for side-splitting stupidity, hot dog disguises and absolute terror in Jamie McKeller’s staging of Peepolykus co-artistic director John Nicholson’s incredibly high-brow adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s mystery The Hound Of The Baskervilles.
Sherlock Holmes (Laura McKeller) and Dr Watson (Laura Castle) must unravel the mysterious death of Sir Charles Baskerville, found dead on his estate with a look of terror still etched on his face and the paw prints of a gigantic hound beside his body. Look out for Michael Cornell popping up as Sir Henry and Sir Charles Baskerville and Yokel 2. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
The poster artwork for K-Pop All Stars, bound for Grand Opera House, York
Tribute gig of the week: K-Pop All Stars, Grand Opera House, York, May 6, 7pm
RIDE the global K-pop wave with K-Pop All Stars’ explosive live celebration of the music, artists and Korean culture that is taking over the pop world. Feel the power of stadium-sized anthems, razor-sharp choreography and a cast that delivers every beat with precision and passion, performing hits by Blackpink, NewJeans, Katseye, BTS, Itzy, Stray Kids, Twice, Jung Kook and more. Cue light sticks glowing in the crowd. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Dervish: Traditional Irish folk music at National Centre for Early Music. Picture: Tim Jarvis
Recommended but sold out already: Dervish, National Centre for Early Music, Walmgate, York, May 6, 7.30pm
LEGENDARY Irish traditional folk music band Dervish, recipients of a BBC lifetime achievement award in 2019, have recorded and performed all over the world, playing at festivals from Rio to Glastonbury. Fronted by singer Cathy Jordan. the line-up of fiery fiddle, flute, bouzouki, mandola, bodhran and accordion delivers vibrant sets of tunes and compelling songs. Box office for returns only: 01904 658338 or ncem.co.uk.
Teddy Thompson: Releasing 11th album, Never Be The Same, on May 15
TEDDY Thompson will bring his Never Be The Same UK Tour to All Saints Church, Pocklington, in a June 6 show promoted by Hurricane Promotions.
The London-born, Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter will play a second Yorkshire gig on his 13-date British and Irish itinerary at Howard Assembly Room, Leeds, on June 11.
Thompson, 50, will be showcasing Never Be The Same, his 11th album, featuring his first collection of original material since Heartbreaker Please in 2020, to be released on May 15 on RPF Records/Royal Potato Family on CD, digital, and vinyl formats.
Across ten tracks, Thompson refines his craft via an exploration of music’s enduring preoccupations: love, longing and the uneasy passage of time.
The album was not built on a grand narrative. There was no self-imposed exile, no forced reinvention. Instead, it is centred around an exhortation threaded through the songs like a refrain, namely “Never Be The Same”, whose title only revealed itself to Thompson after he had completed the recording.
“It’s a phrase that, unconsciously, I used twice,” he says. “And when I saw it on the page, I realised, this is the message of this album. Don’t ever be the same. Change. Grow! Even when the sentiment is, ‘woe is me’, I’ll never recover after that love or loss. The message is still, change. Don’t get too comfortable. Everything is temporary, so evolve or perish!”
This pull and tension between comfort and change runs quietly throughout the album, produced by Grammy Award–winning musician/producer David Mansfield.
At the core is Thompson’s longstanding commitment to songwriting as a form, inspired by early influences such as Chuck Berry, Hank Williams and Crowded House, as well as the towering figures of the craft, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, The Beatles and, certainly, his parents, British folk icons Richard and Linda Thompson.
The poster artwork for Teddy Thompson’s gig at All Saints Church, Pocklington
For Thompson, the search for this truth starts with authenticity and personal experience. “Songwriting is magical,” he says. “You can hear 100 people sing ‘I love you,’ and you know which one is telling the truth. If the root of the sentiment is authentic, it will resonate.”
The album’s first single, So This Is Heartache, is a bruised waltz for the broken- hearted. Reminiscent of the golden age of Stax Records, it weds Thompson’s keening tenor and soaring falsetto with a classic soul feel and a warm horn section.
“If you sit down to write the most raw emotion you can summon, most of the time it’s going to touch on some kind of loss,” he says. “People will say, ‘Oh, you poor thing,’ but it’s not that I’ve had more heartbreak than anybody else; I just wrote it down.”
A crucial presence throughout the album is Mansfield, who also helmed My Love Of Country, Thompson’s 2023 country covers project. Mansfield once again presents Thompson with a deft touch, framing his vocals in elegant and understated arrangements.
“He’s a big part of the aesthetic. We work very well together; we are simpatico,” says Thompson. “It’s a great feeling to put someone else in charge after having the songs rolling around in your head for ages. Once you’ve done the writing, you’re able to just be the singer. The sound of the record is down to him; he did an amazing job.”
On Come Back, Thompson begs for redemption with a departed lover whom he did not do enough to retain, alternately grappling with the need for self-improvement and pleading for a return. Baby It’s You is the album’s most tender moment, a yearning ballad juxtaposed by a chorus that could fill a stadium and punctuated by John Grant’s wicked, percolating synthesisers.
I Remember is the stuff of nostalgia, wherein Thompson recalls the angst of childhood and the soothing “pale, rock pool eyes” of the one who set him on his path. There is even an appropriately dry kiss-off to unnamed vices with Worst Two Weeks Of My Life.
Ultimately, Never Be The Same is an album of steady evolution, a suite of deeply considered, carefully constructed songs rooted in lived experience. If one message prevails, it is that change is not only inevitable but essential, even when you would rather stay exactly where you are.
Tickets for Pocklington and Leeds are on sale at https://www.alttickets.com/teddy-thompson-tickets.
Michael Cornell’s Sir Henry Baskerville, Laura McKeller’s Sherlock Holmes, centre, and Laura Castle’s Dr John Watson in Neon Crypt’s The Hound Of The Baskervilles
YORK Gothic humorists Neon Crypt will serve up The Hound Of The Baskervilles with side-splitting stupidity, hot dog disguises and absolute terror at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, from May 5 to 9.
Expect a relentlessly silly, very funny and very fast-paced show suitable for all ages, albeit with some mild peril, as Laura McKeller, Laura Castle and Michael Cornell tackle a typically high-brow, 60-minute adaptation by Peepolykus co-founder John Nicholson, in the wake of staging Nicholson and Le Navet Bete’s Dracula: The Bloody Truth last May.
Directed by Jamie McKeller, alias York ghost walk supremo Dr Dorian Deathly of Deathly Dark Tours, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s most celebrated Sherlock Holmes story is given a madcap makeover as Holmes and Dr Watson are summoned to investigate the ancient curse of the Hound of the Baskervilles.
To do so, they must unravel the mysterious death of Sir Charles Baskerville, who is found dead on his estate, with a look of terror still etched on his face and the paw prints of a gigantic hound beside his body.
The Hound Of The Baskervilles director Jamie McKeller in Dr Dorian Deathly ghost walk guide mode
“Our memories of The Hound Of The Baskervilles in York go way back to York Theatre Royal doing it with panto villain David Leonard as Holmes [in 2016],” says Jamie. “Within Neon Crypt, there are four of us, and we get together to throw it around the room, saying ‘you read this part’, ‘you read that part’, and it ended up landing the way it has with the two Lauras as Holmes and Watson and Michael playing Sir Henry Baskerville, Sir Charles Baskerville and multiple Yokels.
“We knew one of us would direct the show, and the general feeling was that it would go a certain way, but it didn’t go the way we thought it would! I thought I’d end up as Holmes because he’s so stoic, but then Laura [McKeller] read the part and nailed the arrogance and Basil Rathbone air of ‘Britishness’.
“Laura [Castle] has such an everyman quality to her acting, and she started to read Dr John Watson in an Received Pronunciation English accent, but I said, ‘no, give me Bradford, give me the moors, give me West Yorkshire’, and that’s how she’s now playing him.”
Laura C will focus on Watson and a Yokel, while Laura M will be even busier in her multi-role-playing duties than Cornell. “She’s doing at least ten roles because Holmes is not always present. She’ll be Mr and Mrs Barrymore; the train guard; Cecile Stapleton; Jack Stapleton and Selden, ‘the Notting Hill murderer’, among others,” says Jamie.
Laura McKeller’s Sherlock Holmes in hot dog disguise in Neon Crypt’s The Hound Of he Baskervilles
“She has go off, change character and be back on in a heartbeat – and our stage manager will be multi-rolling too with all the scenes changes, costume changes and props, so she’s as much a character in the show as the other three. Though she doesn’t say anything, she has to do a lot on stage, with the running joke of the cast tipping her every time she comes on but becoming more and more begrudging about doing that.”
Analysing The Hound Of The Baskervilles’ abiding popularity, Jamie says “It’s a good sleuth story where the audience feels ‘Let’s go sleuthing’. If anything, in this version, the story is on the backburner, so there are moments when the sleuthing is going on, where we have to find the chance to hit the brakes to say to the audience, ‘Are you keeping up?’.
“We’re staging it on a thrust set design, so the audience are invited into the action straightaway. Within 30 seconds, the house lights are up and the audience are involved.
“The show is right up our street in terms of silliness, and though we place it in the late-1800s, with Watson in a Victorian two-piece and Holmes in a deer stalker and cape, the cast can break out of the period setting, like the moment when they pull out a mobile phone.”
No smoke without (gun) fire: Laura Castle’s Dr John Watson in Neon Crypt’s The Hound Of The Baskervilles
The two Lauras wore Holmes and Watson’s waxed moustaches in rehearsal for the first time last night (30/4/2026). “But Laura M is no stranger to having moustaches and mono-brows on stage,” says Jamie. “Laura C likes to do her nails with themed symbols on: bats for her Dracula last time; now moustaches on blue nails for Doctor John Watson!”
From Star Wars music in one scene to the bubbling bromance of Holmes and Watson, anything could happen in Neon Crypt’s show. “I think there’s permission that if anyone ‘cracks’ on stage in a preposterous comedy, it’s not the end of the world,” posits Jamie. “It makes it feel more grounded, and you’re at such close quarters with the audience at Theatre@41 that it’s a really transformative venue, where you can have it anyway you want.”
Jamie has plenty on his thespian plate, by the way. “I’ll be playing Frank in Jim Paterson’s production of Educating Rita for Black Treacle Theatre in June, and with the volume of lines in each show, I couldn’t have done both Sherlock and Frank,” he says.
Neon Crypt in The Hound Of The Baskervilles, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, May 5 to 9, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Florence Poskitt: Playing hairdresser and Open University Eng Lit student Rita in Black Treacle Theatre’s June production of Educating Rita
YORK company Black Treacle Theatre will present Educating Rita, Willy Russell’s warm, witty and moving two-hander about the power of education to change lives, at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, from June 9 to 13.
Company founder and director Jim Paterson will direct Jamie McKeller and Florence Poskitt in Russell’s tale of Rita, a working-class hairdresser hungry for something more, signing up for an Open University literature course.
There she meets Frank, a disillusioned academic whose passion for teaching has long faded. Their weekly tutorials become a battle of ideas, humour and honesty as Rita’s confidence blossoms and heavy-drinking Frank wrestles with his demons and the possibility of a second chance.
As Rita discovers the worlds of art, culture and self-expression, she begins to question the life others expect her to live. Change, however, comes with difficult choices, whereupon both teacher and student must reconsider who they are and who they want to be. Tickets for the 7.30pm performances are on sale attickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Coming next from Neon Crypt
NEON Crypt will stage The Battersea Poltergeist and Uncanny podcaster, broadcaster and journalist Danny Robbins’s smart, modern-day London supernatural thriller 2:22 A Ghost Story at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, in Halloween week.
“Nick Hern Books contacted us to say the rights were becoming available from midday that day and would we be interested?” says Neon Crypt artistic director Jamie McKeller, who will feature in the cast alongside Laura McKeller, Laura Castle and Michael Cornell, directed by Alex King.
More details will follow.
Dr Dorian Deathly: Making the Grand Opera House his latest haunt for ghost stories
Deathly Dark Tours to go behind scenes at Grand Opera House on May 25
DR Dorian Deathly, alias Jamie McKeller, is teaming up with the Grand Opera House, York, for a “unique experience on stage and behind the scenes after dark” as visitors investigate the Cumberland Street theatre’s 120-year history with the York ghost walk host on May 25.
Deathly Dark Tourssupremo Dorian will lead ghost-walkers on a backstage tour replete with stories of people connected with the theatre’s past. Tours will start at 6pm, 7pm and 8pm. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Nursing a hangover: Martha Godber’s Jesse North in her new play Jesse North Is Broken
MARTHA Godber will perform the world premiere of Jesse North Is Broken, her solo theatre piece on the theme of working-class survival in Britain, at York Theatre Royal Studio from May 11 to 14.
Actress-writer Martha, Hull-born daughter of playwright John Godber and fellow writer-director Jane Thornton, will be directed by Millie Gaston in the John Godber Company production.
Jesse, 25, from Hull, is a carer on minimum wage, keeping the elderly alive while trying to live her own messy, chaotic life. Told over one night, Jesse North Is Broken follows her from care shift to the dance floor, from the late-night kebab to an early-morning call-out as she battles the system that undervalues her and the city that shapes her, all while her ADHD-fuelled thoughts and anxious mind crave order in the chaos.
“Both political and personal, the show shines a light on working-class survival in Britain today – where carers are underpaid, the care system is crumbling, and young women are left to piece themselves together in a society that keeps breaking them,” says Martha.
LIPA-trained Martha last appeared on the York Theatre Royal stage in June 2025 in the John Godber Company’s tour of John Godber’s hymn to the abiding power of Northern Soul, Do I Love You?.
Martha Godber: Hull-born actress and writer
“I’m thrilled to be bringing Jesse North Is Broken to York Theatre Royal; it feels like the perfect venue to premiere the show,” she says. “As someone from Hull, I’ve always been drawn to telling northern stories, and this piece does exactly that.
“I’m passionate about creating female characters who are unapologetic, bold and command the stage, celebrating the northern female voice in all its complexity.
“At its heart, the show explores connection, pain, love and loss, set against the realities of government policy, the care system and the social pressures of a working-class town. It’s a fearless piece of new writing and I hope it resonates deeply with contemporary audiences.”
Jesse North Is Broken emerged from Martha “always thinking about different ideas for writing about”. “I was also a bit fed up of the type of roles I was going for as a female and especially as a northern female,” she says. “I wanted to do something that was visceral, female, brash, on stage.
Martha Godber, right, and Chloe McDonald in John Godber’s hymn to Northern Soul, Do I Love You?
“I originally wrote it on the train from London to Hull, when I was feeling, ‘I need to get something written down’, as I was interested in doing a spoken-word piece – and it just fell out of me, the first draft.”
She was drawn to the subject of care work from her family experiences at the time. “My grandparents were having carers coming in, and I thought maybe I could draw these two things together as originally it was about a young Hull woman’s night out,” says Martha.
“Then I interwove the care worker and the subject of people at work into the story: that thing of working in a pressured environment, where there’s a lot of end-of-life care. That experience of going out at night as a young vibrant woman and yet dealing with people in need of that care.
“I was also interested in the theme of connection: how she goes from having a one-night stand to going back to the woman she’s caring for, who’s 93.”
Martha has written four drafts of her play. “Especially when it’s a new show, you are always adding new elements, particularly once we started rehearsals, but also to reflect how things have changed since meeting up with one of the care workers I spoke with,” she says.
John Godber Company’s poster artwork for Jesse North Is Broken, premiering at York Theatre Royal Studio
“I really want the play to be relevant and current, putting that on stage to make sure the subject resonates with the people watching it.”
Martha draws on her own experiences, not least in Jesse’s “ADHD-fuelled” thoughts and anxiety. “The way it comes out of my head, it makes sense to lace it into her character as it leads to spontaneous decisions within the complexity of a female character, making these decisions through the night that maybe she should not have made,” she says. “I wrote from my own experiences, as I can’t not do that, because it creates relatability.
“That’s also why I wanted to create a solo space to perform in because often there isn’t that space for women to take up, one that’s visceral and overt.”
As for the impact of her father, John Godber, on her work, Martha says: “He’s my biggest inspiration.”
John Godber Company presents Martha Godber’s Jesse North Is Broken, York Theatre Royal Studio, May 11 to 14, 7.45pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Age guidance: 15 plus. Content guidance: Strong language and sexual references. Post-show discussion: May 13. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Seat of power: Rosy Rowley’s Jack Falstaff, the fool mid-stool expunging on the throne. Picture: John Saunders
AMERICAN playwright Scott Bradley plays his Trump card by association in the York International Shakespeare Festival world premiere of A Kingdom Jack’d.
In situ for a month of rehearsals with fellow American Tempest Wisdom’s York company 1st Zanni Theatre, award-winning Iowa playwright, actor, director, producer and university lecturer Bradley asks the question: What if disgraced knight Jack Falstaff had landed on the throne in 1399, instead of serious warrior king Henry IV?
Enter birthday girl Rosy Rowley’s Falstaff – now King John II, no less – with a bibulous burp. Stupid, lecherous, selfish and still as funny as Queen Elizabeth I once found her favourite Shakespeare rogue, Bradley’s rambunctious lush must somehow fund the army, balance the budget and make foreign policy, betwixt naps, plentiful imbibing at the Boar’s Head Inn, Eastcheap, and multiple meals at any excuse.
At full throttle: Oliver James Parkins’ Henry “Hal” Holingbroke in a fight to the death with Katie Leckey’s Harry “Hotspur” Percyin A Kingdom Jack’d. Picture: John Saunders
In Bradley’s satirical spin on Shakespeare’s Henry IV Part I, Falstaff’s government is drunk, his enemies are plotting, the Welsh are rising, even his allies are scheming, and girlfriend Doll Tearsheet (the outstanding Julia Bisby), the smart London harlot, wants in on the action.
Whipped up in two brisk 45-minute halves, book-ended by Jai Rowley’s pastiche period score, A Kingdom Jack’d pumps up the satirical volume with clowning physicality under Wisdom’s direction, while sounding the alarum bells for the consequences of buffoonery in positions of power.
As Wisdom puts it: “Scott has made Falstaff not only unpredictable, but dangerous. He now has institutional power on top of his pre-existing social power, and the thrill of watching the effects of that power unfold is hilarious and sickening in equal measure.”
Ro Trimble’s Lady “Kate” Percy in discussion with Katie Leckey’s Harry “Hotspur” Percy. Picture: John Saunders
In performance, the impact is more scabrously and scatalogically humorous than sickening (unless you are squeamish about the surfeit of swordplay in the Grand Guignol finale as the bodies pile up like uncollected bin bags in Birmingham in Pearl Mollison’s no-holds-barred fight choreography).
Rowley’s Falstaff is lairy, licentious, lewd, flippant as a pancake, and Bradley, Wisdom and Rowley alike revel in the symbolism of Falstaff flagrantly conducting ablutions in full view of all and sundry. By Rowley’s side, Bisby’s nimble Doll is droll and astute with a waspish crack of the quip in her putdowns.
Julia Bisby’s Doll Tearsheet stands over Rosy Rowley’s prone Jack Falstaff. Writer Scott Bradley, second from left, seated, front row, looks on. Picture: John Saunders
In a cast of 12, Wisdom draws both high energy and rhythmic versifying from their cast of 12, all relishing the proximity of the audience to the thrust staging within the timber frames of the history-soaked hall.
Kitted out splendidly in Grae Heidi-Brookes’s hand-made costumes, Oliver James Parkins evokes Charlie Chaplin’s face, floppy hair and impishly disruptive comedy in Henry “Hal” Holingbroke; Jodie Foster is a riot as Lady Quickly and especially the intemperate Owen Glendower; Jimmy Johnson and Katie Leckey maximise the clowning in their head-banging Sir Pistol & Sir Nym double act and Ro Trimble’s impresses equally in the high camp of Edmund Mortimer and the scheming allure of Lady “Kate” Percy.
In a running joke by Bradley, Lou Dunn’s shrunken wallflower John Bolingbroke keeps being forgotten or ignored by everyone on stage, but not by the audience. Elsewhere, not everything is easy to follow in the plot, especially in Act Two, but maybe that is a nod to Shakespeare too by the ever canny, mischievous Bradley.
Jeff Clark: Creative director of Art Of Protest Projects
INTERNATIONAL mural artists will deliver York’s first creative mural festival at the Acomb Fest from July 3 to 5.
Run by Art Of Protest Projects and York & North Yorkshire Combined Authority, the three-day event will add up to 15 venues, four live mural paintings, ten art installations, more than 30 bands, DJs and performers, plus paint jam and spray battles, in a packed programme of creative events for all ages.
Watch the live paints with headliners including Australia superstar SMUG, known as “the world’s best photorealistic artist”; Sheffield muralist Peachzz, 2024 runner-up for Best Mural in the World; leading wildlife artist Curtis Hylton and returnee Acomb superstar Sledone.
“Look out for surprise renowned acts and secret pop-ups to follow for some pre-festival installations that will create a nature-inspired open-air art gallery,” says Art Of Protest creative director Jeff Clark.
Creative events and activities will be centred on Front Street, Acomb, with free street art workshops. Venues include Bluebird Bakery, SoJo, The Tap and The Fox, connecting all the green spaces and parks.
Each venue will have its own bespoke offer with individual tickets and availability being released on the Acomb Fest website, with live announcements to follow for details of bush craft, nature art, water art and artist talks.
Rare Collective will deliver DJs; nine artists will showcase their skills in live spray battles at the Carlton Tavern; a community cinema will run at Acomb Explore library and a spoken-word event at Book and Bevs.
A full programme of family-friendly free activities will be held at Acomb Methodist Church; That Acomb Arty Thing will host an artist market; the Gateway Church will mount art exhibitions and Fishponds Wood will run mini-beast trails.
Further events will be local history tours, light installations in Holgate Windmill and pop-up stalls run by Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and York Civic Trust.
There will be specialist food and drink offerings throughout the festival, including Spirit Of Yorkshire and an international mixologist. Tickets and listings will become available at https://acombfest.co.uk/
Acomb Fest was shaped by speaking to more than 1,100 residents, leading to the theme of returning to nature. The festival was made possible by funding from York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority Vibrant and Sustainable High Street Fund, Great Acomb Community Forum, City of York Council, York St John University, York and business and the community.
David Skaith, Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, says: “High streets are constantly changing, but they have, and always will be, hubs for our communities. That’s why I’m backing community-led projects across York and North Yorkshire.
“Like Acomb Fest, which will transform Front Street, Acomb, into an open-air gallery and event centre, creating legacy and vibrancy through co-production, talent development and sustainability.
“Residents and businesses understand most of what is needed in their communities, and I am proud to be backing their plans with my Vibrant and Sustainable High Street Fund.”
If you would like to be involved, please email acombfest.aop@gmail.com. Creative director Jeff Clark says: This is an inclusive project, so we would love to hear from community groups and businesses that would like to deliver activities during the festival or host events.
“We are keen to transform and uplift the area, so will be creating a wall library, so please get in touch if you have a wall to paint. We are here to celebrate local creatives so will be arranging a programme of events for artists to exhibit and be part of the festival.
“We are also keen for local musicians to come forward to perform at one of the local venues. There will be volunteer opportunities as well as the talent development programme.”
The Wizard of York: Bringing magic and wizardry to York’s streets in May. Picture: The Story of You
PHOENIX the Red, The Wizard of York is to host his second WizardFest from May 23 to 25.
York’s official Festival of Wizardry will be a city-wide magical event, spread across such sites as Parliament Street, Shambles, St Helen’s Square and York Minster.
“It promises magical fun for wizards and witches of all ages and is shaping up to be a lot bigger than last year,” says organiser Dan Wood, alias the wand-ering Wizard of York, as he looks forward to casting a spell over York once more.
“There’ll be lots of new things going on, including taking over Parliament Street with a Wizard Activity Zone with face painting, wand making, performers and a Wizard Family Rave at Thor’s Tipi.
The WizardFest Fancy Dress Parade crowd at the 2025 festival. Picture: The Story of You
“We have 25 activities on the magical map, including trails, tours, bubble shows, dragons, owls, wand making, LEGO workshops, a Magical Night Market, Fancy Dress Parade and more.”
The festival announcement follows in the wake of magical mirth-maker Dan’s Wizard Walk of York winning Independent Business of the Year at the Visit York Tourism Awards, as well as Experience of the Year for the second year running, while last May’s inaugural WizardFest was a top three finalist for Festival of the Year.
Dan says: “Championing local businesses is at the very heart of what we do. We work with companies who we believe offer something special, and great value, for locals and tourists. WizardFest is all about putting them on the map, quite literally!”
He will be collaborating with Little Vikings to spread the wizarding word and has lined up six sponsors including York’s Loopy Scoops, Baby Boy’s Burgers and The Cat Gallery.
Meet a Dragon at Wizard Fest. Picture: The Story of You
Face painting at WizardFest. Picture: The Story of You
“We were blown away by the support for the first festival,” adds Dan. “Tickets vanished quickly and we can’t wait to do it all again. Fan favourites will return, including extra Wizard Walks, Brick Magic LEGO workshops and a wizard twist at Professor Kettlestring’s Puzzling World.
“Visitors can enjoy free trails, including The Black Cat Quest from The Cat Gallery – with new locations – and The Magical Owl Trail in Shambles Market by Make it York.
“Real owls will be appearing at St Crux Church on York’s Shambles on the Saturday, courtesy of The Flying Squadron, and Make It York will be bringing back The Magical Night Market, with more than 30 traders appearing – as if by magic – on the Monday evening. Expect a spellbinding setting, with wonderfully whimsical characters to meet and greet.”
Parliament Street will be transformed by Dan into a new Wizard Activity Zone. “There’ll be face painting, wand making, and families can get in a spin with the Party Octopus 360 video experience,” he says. “Thor’s Tipi is getting the party started with their Wizard Family Rave and offering Butterbeer with free wizard specs for every child.
The Wizard of York leading the Fancy Dress Parade at the 2025 WizardFest. Picture: The Story of You
“Chocolate unicorns can be made and decorated at York Cocoa Works and The Giant Bubble Show at Friargate Theatre is new too for 2026. Families can enjoy 60 minutes of jaw-dropping bubble tricks from The Bubble Wizard.”
Wandering wizards will not go hungry either. “The Dragon Sundae returns to Loopy Scoops, with the chance to meet Ignis (Iggy) the Dragon nearby too,” says Dan. “You can sink your teeth into a Beastly Burger from Baby Boy’s Burgers at SPARK: York or try the fiery Phoenix Fries in Shambles Market.”
A highlight last year was the free Fancy Dress Parade and Best Dressed Contest on the final day. “This will return for 2026, on May 25, starting at 3.15pm in St Helen’s Square, then heading down Stonegate to York Minster,” says Dan. “Visitors are encouraged to dress to impress for the chance to win some spellbinding prizes.
“We’d love to see some really different or unusual outfits. The theme isn’t limited to one particular wizarding world. You could take inspiration from Harry Potter, The Lord Of The Rings, Discworld or Wicked. Perhaps come as a magical creature or your own original creation!”
TheBubble Wizard performing at WizardFest
Prizes are donated by The Wizard Walk, The Society of Alchemists, Stonegate Teddy Bears and The Shop That Must Not Be Named.
Activity listings can be found at www.wizardwalkofyork.com/wizardfest, where bookings can be made too. “I can’t wait to see everyone at the festival and to celebrate the best of magic and family fun in York,” says Dan.
“Plan your visit at www.wizardwalkofyork.com/wizardfest and follow @wizardwalkofyork on Facebook and Instagram for updates. Almost all events sold out last year, so early planning is recommended before tickets…vanish!”
A magical map will be available to download, along with printed copies during the event.
On fire: Dan Wood, alias Phoenix the Red, the Wizard of York: Organiser of WizardFest
More wizard news for Dan
THE Wizard Walk of York has ranked in fourth place in Family Friendly Experiences worldwide in the 2026 TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards.
“The accolade puts the activity above experiences such as turtle snorkelling in Bali and a ninja experience in Tokyo,” says the Wizard of York, alias Phoenix the Red, the creation of York magical mirth-maker Dan Wood.
The tours leave from York’s Shambles and can run up to six times daily in the holidays, organised by Dan, who lives near York with his wife and two boys and loves creating magic moments for locals and tourists alike.
“We were actually awarded first place last year in same awards, but are still absolutely spellbound with the fourth position globally. It’s mind-blowing to think that our small family business – with big ideas – can reach such heights worldwide.”
The awards are based solely on visitor feedback, complemented by York’s wand-ering wizard having many other awards up his sleeve too. The business won Experience of the Year for the second time in the Visit York Tourism Awards 2026, as well as Independent Business of the Year.
In the Little Vikings Awards for Kids, The Wizard Walk of York has picked up the Best Tour prize four years running and Best Birthday Party Entertainer twice.
The Wizard of York on his Wizard Walk of York. Picture: The Story of You
“We put magic first in all that we do,” says Dan. “We’re all about making magical memories and bringing fun and laughter to families visiting our enchanting city. Visitors often describe it as the highlight of their whole visit, and we can’t ask for more than that.”
The Wizard Walk Of York tour is a quest to find magical creatures around York – led by either Dan himself as Phoenix the Red or second guide Viridian the Green. “The interactive experience combines magic, illusion, storytelling and more jokes than you can shake a wand at,” says Dan.
“We love York’s rich history, but this isn’t a historical tour. There are lots of those, and we set out to create something totally different. There are no ghosts stories, and it’s not a Harry Potter tour either – although the theme makes it popular for fans of the wizarding world.”
Dan’s company is expanding, to the point where he is seeking a third wizard guide, while conjuring new ideas and partnerships too.
The magic never stops for Dan and his team: as well as running public tours, birthday parties and school trips weekly, he is busy working on the city’s second official Festival of Wizardry, Wizard Fest (see story above).
In the York Barbican spotlight: Jalen Ngonda on the first night of his spring tour at York Barbican. Picture: Paul Rhodes
JALEN Ngonda is a stylist. He doesn’t lay things on too much or too little.
The rising American-born soul star doesn’t overdo his incredible vocals or over-extend his scratch guitar playing or showboat on the piano. Instead, he lets the grooves and the vibe carry the day.
His is a sunlight and birdsong sort of a voice, bright, energetic and brimming with life.
This was the first night of the tour, and Ngonda and his three-piece band (who remained un-introduced, but were Michael Buckley ,keyboards and guitar, Vincent Chiarito, bass, and Sam Merrick, drums) showed no hint of nerves as they delivered an assured 68-minute set.
Seemingly effortless, Ngonda didn’t seek to seduce, to tease or to milk his audience, who treated him like a superstar anyway. While he has been playing the music trade in the UK for more than a decade, and his breakout album Come Around And Love Me came out in 2023, you sense Ngonda is about to become something of a big thing.
Jalen Ngonda performing with drummer Sam Merrick, keyboard player Michael Buckley and bassist Vincent Chiarito. Picture: Paul Rhodes
To this point Ngonda could be viewed as a singles artist, reeling off would-be hit after would-be hit. Tunes such as Just As Long As We’re Together and That’s All I Wanted From You could stand with the best soul of any era.
Fortunately, he hasn’t gone psychedelic but is doubling down on affairs of the heart. His piano numbers revealed a man who could go in any number of musical directions.
This Maryland man with the high, androgynous voice, now an adopted Liverpudlian, is in every sense a star turn. True, his songs are all cut from the same cloth, but it’s a very stylish cloth that captures the best of 1960s’ Motown soul, the Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield, Smokey Robinson sound.
The contemporary edge is well hidden, but Ngonda is more than a tribute to a great period. It’ll be interesting to see the reaction to his forthcoming much-anticipated new LP, Doctrine Of Love.
On this showing, he seems poised to take his material to the next level, as evidenced by his multi-generation appeal and the response to his music. Ngonda was clearly pleased to be in such an appreciative setting, and his natural modesty only endeared him more to the crowd.
