The poster artwork for Navigators Art’s YO Underground #7 at The Basement, City Screen Picturehouse, York
CONTINUING its mission to present adventurous left-field music and words from York and the region, Navigators Art plays host to an eclectic mixed bill of uniquely styled indie acoustic song-writing from Weather Balloons, the Joe Douglas Trio’s North African-inspired free jazz and a collaboration between audiovisual projections and Ben Hopkinson’s quartet Synaefonia.
“Weather Balloons feature Leeds’s premier soft-rock renegade Annie Prior, singing by moonlight or hot coal of old feeling or burnt terror, new loves or curled spiders,” says event organiser Richard Kitchen. “She has a harmonica and a waking dream. Her favourite colour has always been gold.
Annie Prior of Weather Balloons
Tenor saxophone player Ben Hopkinson
“The Joe Douglas Trio takes an exhilarating ride into free space via North Africa, driven by local legend Joe on drums, Felix Edwards-McStay on keyboards and Louie Hanley-Pir on sax and guembri (a three-stringed, skin-covered bass lute central to Moroccan Gnawa music).”
The Ben Hopkinson’s Synaefonia performance will contain projections of flashing imagery that “communicate musical ideas in real time to a highly creative quintet”. In the band will be Ben Hopkinson, tenor saxophone and Osmose synthesiser; Kit Shepherd & Manlu Du, violins; Desmond Clarke, oboe and cor anglais, and Iris Casling, double bass.
Doors open at 7pm for 7.30pm start. Tickets cost £5 in advance at https://www.ticketsource.com/navigators-art-performance or £10 on the door.
Ben Hopkinson’s Synaefonia violin players Kit Shepherd and Manlu Du
York International Shakespeare Festival artist-in-residence Lisa Wolpe in Shakespeare and the Alchemy of Gender
THE eighth edition of the York International Shakespeare Festival opens tomorrow (21/4/2026), featuring performances from across Europe and beyond, all grounded in William Shakespeare’s work, until May 3.
More than 40 events will be staged at festival partners York St John University and Theatre@41, Monkgate, the Yorkshire Museum and Merchant Adventurers’ Hall.
First up, at 1.30pm and 3pm tomorrow, is a new collaboration with York Museums Trust for the premiere of Friends, Romans, Yorkshiremen. Taking place on the Roman Mosaic at the Yorkshire Museum, Museum Gardens, it draws on the four plays that Shakespeare set in Rome for an exploration of the history, memory and the seemingly insignificant. This event is free for those with tickets for the museum.
Highlights will include American performer and festival artist-in-residence Lisa Wolpe in Shakespeare and the Alchemy of Gender; With Love’s Light Wings, a theatrical experience inspired by Romeo And Juliet, from Georgia; Codename Othello, a UK/Ukraine collaboration, featuring performers from York and Ivano Frankivsk, Ukraine; Shakespeare-based improv from York company Riding Lights and the world premiere of A Kingdom Jack’d by American playwright Scott Bradley, who is in York for the festival.
Look out too for new work from York-based Ukrainian theatre company D.Space; Romanian productions of The Taming Of The Shrew and Richard III; York composer Morag Galloway’s autobiographical piece Dog Daze; productions of Hamlet from Romania and the UK, complemented by a day exploring David Gothard’s Hamlet archive; Timonopoly, a game-style show based on the rarely-seen play Timon Of Athens by Edinburgh Fringe award winner Emily Carding, and Petty Me, the ShakeSphere Selection 2026.
The full programme can be found at yorkshakes.co.uk, where tickets can be booked.Brochures are available at libraries across the city.
With Love’s Light Wings, a Georgian theatrical experience inspired by Romeo And Juliet, playing York International Shakespeare Festival at York St John University Creative Centre Auditorium on April 21 at 8.30pm
The Roman Mosaic in the Yorkshire Museum
Taking part in the festival too will be the York Shakespeare Project, directed by Anna Gallon for the first time in Love’s Labours Lost as Shakespeare meets the 1990s’ club scene in an immersive new take on the Bard’s early comedy.
Set in the heat and heighted passions of modern nightlife, Anna’s reinvention will run at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, from April 22 to 25.
“We are absolutely delighted to welcome Anna as our director,” says YSP chair Tony Froud. “She emerged from an outstanding group of applicants, since when she has brought energy and excitement into the rehearsal room. This promises to translate into a totally memorable and entertaining show.
“York is very fortunate to have so many outstanding young directors. This production will show Anna as a key member of that group.”
Anna is co-founder and artistic director of York theatre company Four Wheel Drive, perhaps best known for its 2023 production of The Trial Of Margaret Clitheroe in the Guildhall. She also appeared as Lucetta in YSP’s The Two Gentlemen Of Verona, directed by Tempest Wisdom in 2024.
“I’m thrilled to be directing Love’s Labour’s Lost for YSP,” she says. “It’s a dazzling, witty play about language, love, and self-discovery – and I can’t wait to bring it to life in a way that feels vibrant and connected to the world we live in today.”
Ben Reeves Rowley in rehearsal for his role as the King of Navarre in York Shakespeare Project’s Love’s Labours Lost. Picture: John Saunders
Set firmly in the here and now, Anna’s Love’s Labour’s Lost will re-imagine Shakespeare’s sparkling comedy of wit, wordplay, vows and romantic mischief in clubland. Her playful production promises to mix verse, rhythm, dance and striking visuals to create a fresh and contemporary celebration of love, temptation and folly.
The King of Navarre and his three companions are re-imagined by Anna as the DJs who once ruled York’s club scene but have now renounced the wild world of drink, dance and late nights, committing themselves instead to a retreat of abstinence: no women, no drink and definitely no dance floors.
However, when the Princess of France and her entourage arrive, their solemn vows begin to unravel, as Anna explores. “I want this comedy of discipline versus desire to play out not in a palace, but in a bar, where vows are as fragile as your morals after one too many tequila shots,” she says.
“My interpretation uses Shakespeare’s original language but finds playful, recognisable parallels for modern audiences: ageing players try to resist temptation, while nightlife culture collides with wellness culture and the irresistible force of love.”
As a key element of Anna’s production, the audience will find Theatre@41’s John Cooper Studio transformed from black box into a nightclub. “The bar setting will place Shakespeare into a familiar social space,” she says. “Instead of watching from a distance, theatregoers will find themselves inside the comedy: vows made across tables, love confessions unfolding on dance floors. It will be a shared night out for all.”
York Shakespeare Project’s poster artwork for Love’s Labours Lost
Anna’s cast features many faces familiar to York audiences, such as Ian Giles as Don Adriano de Armado, Tempest Wisdom as page Moth, Harry Summers as Longaville and Nick Patrick Jones as Berowne, complemented by six actors new to YSP, Nason Crone’s Dumaine, Vicky Hatt’s Katherine, Helen Clarke’s Boyet, Elizabeth Duggan’s Costard, Stephen Huws’ Holofernes and Sarah McKeagney’s Sir Nathaniel.
Tony enthuses: “We are very excited that Anna’s production has attracted so many actors who are working with us for the first time. Only three of this cast appeared in our last show, Thomas Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy, at Theatre@41 last October. It’s a very healthy and invigorating mix.
“In a very strong cast, it’s particularly pleasing to YSP to see Grace Scott and Ben Reeves Rowley in the central parts of Rosaline and the King of Navarre. Both first appeared in our annual Summer Sonnets show and it’s great to see them progressing to major parts in a full production.”
Why should you see YSP’s Love’s Labours Lost? Let veteran cast member Ian Giles entice you: “Off the scale for daring entertainment, one of Shakespeare’s most verbal comedies is set in King’s Night Spot in 2005 with a soundtrack of Nineties and Noughties’ belters – what could possibly go wrong (or should that be right)? Come and find out.”
York Shakespeare Project presents Love’s Labour’s Lost, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, April 22 to 25, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Jocasta Almgill’s Brooke Wyndham leading the skipping-rope exercise in her big number, Whipped Into Shape, in Legally Blonde The Musical. Picture: Matt Crockett
WEST End star Jocasta Almgill is heading home to Yorkshire to play fitness-empire queen Brooke Wyndham, on trial for murder, in Legally Blonde The Musical.
Hull-born Jocasta last appeared on the York stage as villainous fairy Carabosse, East Riding accent and all, in Sleeping Beauty at Theatre Royal last winter, and now she is on tour in Heather Hach, Laurence O’Keefe and Nell Benjamin’s American musical. Next stop, Grand Opera House, York, from tomorrow (21/4/2026) to Saturday.
“I auditioned for the part last summer before going to Japan to play Diana Morales in A Chorus Line. We were there for ten weeks, playing three cities, Tokyo, Sendai, Osaka and then back to Tokyo. Japanese is a tricky language to learn, but within the company there were lots of Japanese people, so I could practise my Japanese.”
How did that go? “Sometimes they would laugh at me! Like when I thought I was saying ‘That was delicious’ and in fact I’d said ‘Would you marry me’!”
She could not reveal her Legally Blonde role until the full cast was rubber stamped shortly after her panto run in York, one she had so enjoyed. “Playing Carabosse was fantastic. I really loved playing a baddie. That was fun!” says Jocasta. “It’s such an amazing time to be there, for Christmas, taking my dog, Luna, with me, who’s now doing this tour too.
Jocasta Almgill’s villainous Carabosse in York Theatre Royal & Evolution Productions 2025 pantomime Sleeping Beauty. Picture: Pamela Raith
“She’s a Lurcher, a big dog but a super theatre dog because she’s so quiet. She goes everywhere with me on tour, and there are only a few theatre that aren’t dog friendly. It’s absolutely wonderful I can take her with me, and though I could do it without her, it makes it so much better that she’s there, making friends in the theatre.
“When you’re on tour, touring becomes everything, but with Luna there, I get up every day and go on a walk with her and it’s a reminder that there’s more to life. It gives a broader sense of purpose.”
Jocasta’s Theatre Royal pantomime performance – her first as the baddie after myriad Fairy roles – featured her Act Two-opening big number Pinball Wizard, and likewise Legally Blonde calls on her to inject high energy straight after the interval. “Brooke opens Act Two with this amazing number [Whipped Into Shape]. She’s a fitness influencer, and in this scene we’re exercising with skipping ropes,” she says.
“It’s a really spectacular opening to the second half, and for me, it feels so exciting to play this role because previously it’s been played by very slender women, but I like to think of myself as curvy and strong, so it’s been interesting to show a different side to the fitness industry.
“In the Olympics, they’re all different body shapes, and I’m really finding joy in portraying this role, showing women you don’t need to be one shape to be fit.”
Hull-born actress Jocasta Almgill
Buoyed by the perennially pink perma-positivity of stereotype-shattering ‘It Girl’ fashionista-turned-Harvard Law School ace student Elle Woods (played by 2025 Strictly Come Dancing finalist Amber Davies), Legally Blonde is “such a feel-good show”, enthuses Jocasta. “It would be hard to watch this show and not feel uplifted,” she says. “It’s a story about being yourself, fighting and persevering, even in the face of being judged, discovering who you are and being happy with that.”
Legally Blonde will be Jocasta’s fourth show in York: “I was in the original tribute to The Blues Brothers, which came to the Grand Opera House years ago in my first job out of college [Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, from where she graduated in 2009],” she recalls. “Then I came back on tour in 2018 with Hairspray, when I was Peaches, one of The Dynamites.”
After her journey to the dark side as Carabosse in Sleeping Beauty last Christmas, now Jocasta will be in the dock in Legally Blonde, on the road in North Yorkshireman Nikolai Foster’s co-production for Curve Leicester and ROYO until next January.
“That means no panto this winter, unfortunately, because I love panto, but there are very good reasons for that!” she says, as she revels in playing Brooke Wyndham. “The whole company are so wonderful, with a good working atmosphere among us, which is so important.”
Made At Curve & ROYO present Legally Blonde The Musical, Grand Opera House, York, April 21 to 25, 7.30pm plus Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees, 2.30pm. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Rug weaver Jacqueline James: Demonstrating her craft on her loom in Rosslyn Street, Clifton, at York Open Studios h home in York.
SHAKESPEARE is in the spotlight with international guests and a York nightclub rom-com while artists and makers open their studios, as Charles Hutchinson’s diary bulges with inviting opportunities aplenty.
Art event of the month: York Open Studios, York and beyond, today & tomorrow, then April 25 & 26, 10am to 5pm
ACROSS two weekends, 150 artists and makers within York and a ten-mile radius of the city are welcoming visitors to 107 workplaces and studios.
This annual event offers the chance to gain a sneak peek into where the artists work, their methods and inspirations, whether a regular contributor or the 27 new participants, spanning traditional and contemporary painting and print, illustration, drawing, ceramics, mixed media, glass, sculpture, jewellery, textiles and photography. For more information, visit yorkopenstudios.co.uk; access the interactive map at yorkopenstudios.co.uk/map.
The Rollin Stoned: Rolling out The Rolling Stones’ hits and deeper cuts in Malton tribute show
Tribute gig of the week: The Rollin Stoned, Milton Rooms, Malton, tonight, 8pm
THE rock’n’roll circus rolls into Malton for a tribute to The Rolling Stones that focuses on the Brian Jones years from 1964 to 1969. Now in its 27th year, in The Rollin Stoned show the costumes are shamelessly camp, gaudy and fabulous, the instruments vintage, the wit irreverent, the trademark tongue never far from the cheek, but never to the detriment of the music.
As Keith Richards’ late mother, Doris, once remarked of the line-up featuring Mick Jaguar, Byron Jones, Keith Retched, Bill Wymandy, Charlie Waits and pianist Nicky Popkins: “Phenomenal…I can’t wait to tell Keith and Mick that you could easily stand in for them.” Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
The poster artwork for Aljaž and Janette’s Let’s Face The Music…And Dance show, on tour and on the move at York Barbican
Dance duo of the week:Aljaž and Janette, Let’s Face The Music…And Dance!, York Barbican, tonight, 7.30pm
STRICTLY Come Dancing couple Aljaž Škorjanec and Janette Manrara pay tribute to “the heroes behind the music we love” as they dance their way through the work of Cole Porter, Hans Zimmer, Quincy Jones, George Gershwin, David Foster and more besides, joined on stage by an ensemble of dancers and Tom Seals’ Big Band. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Diversity: Asking what it means to be human within the digital age in Soul
Futuristic dance show of the week: Diversity presents Soul, York Barbican, April 20 and 21, 7.45pm
BRITAIN’S Got Talent’s 2009 winners, Ashley Banjo’s Southend dance ensemble Diversity, base Soul around the technological advancements of artificial intelligence, asking what the future holds and what it means to be human within the digital age.
“The future is now,” says Banjo. “Humans have become plugged in and completely connected to a world full of artificial intelligence – a world in which it is hard to distinguish reality from fiction. AI has become so advanced it’s considered a life form of its very own. Is this the next stage in our evolution? What exactly have we created? What makes us human?” His answer: “Soul.” Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Amber Davies as Elle Woods and Sprout as Bruiser in Legally Blonde The Musical, on tour at the Grand Opera House, York
Musical of the week: Made At Curve presents Legally Blonde The Musical, Grand Opera House, York, April 21 to 25, 7.30pm plus Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday matinees, 2.30pm
STRICTLY Come Dancing 2025 finalist Amber Davies plays Elle Woods in the 2026 tour of Legally Blonde The Musical, joined by York Theatre Royal pantomime villain Jocasta Almgill as Brooke Wyndham, after playing wicked fairy Carabosse in Sleeping Beauty last winter.
Davies had been set to appear as Hollywood hooker Vivian Ward in Pretty Woman The Musical at the Grand Opera House in February 2024, but Sydnie Hocknell understudied that week. Hannah Lowther, otherwise playing Margot, will step in for Davies at the April 23 matinee. North Yorkshireman and Curve artistic director Nikolai Foster directs the uplifting, totally pink tale of Elle’s transformation from ‘It Girl’ fashionista to legal ace at Harvard Law School, all in the name of love. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
York International Shakespeare Festival artist-in-residence Lisa Wolpe in Shakespeare and the Alchemy of Gender
Festival of the week: York International Shakespeare Festival, April 21 to May 3
YORK plays host to two weeks of world premieres, unmissable performances, enlightening talks and world-class exhibitions, bringing together artists from Romania, Croatia, Ukraine, Poland and United States, along with British creatives and York talent, in celebration of Shakespeare’s impact across the globe.
Highlights include festival artist-in-residence Lisa Wolpe’s show Shakespeare and the Alchemy of Gender, York St John University Creative Centre, April 22, 7.30pm; Petty Men – ShakeSphere Selection 2026, Theatre@41, Monkgate, April 29, 7.30pm; Common Ground Theatre’s Hamlet, Creative Centre, April 25, 7.30pm, and April 26, 4pm, and Olga Annenko’s Codename Othello, performed in English and Ukrainian, Creative Centre, May 2, 6pm, and May 3, 2pm. Full festival programme and box office: yorkshakes.co.uk.
Ben Reeves Rowley’s King of Navarre in York Shakespeare Project’s Love’s Labours Lost. Picture: John Saunders
York nightlife drama of the week: York Shakespeare Project in Love’s Labours Lost, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, April 22 to 25, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee
FOUR Wheel Drive co-founder and artistic director Anna Gallon directs York Shakespeare Project for the first time in Love’s Labour’s Lost as Shakespeare’s comedy of wit, wordplay, vows and romantic mischief meets the 1990s’ club scene in an immersive new take on the Bard’s early comedy, set in the heat and heighted passions of urban nightlife.
Her playful reinvention mixes verse, rhythm, dance and striking visuals to create a fresh and contemporary celebration of love, temptation and folly, wherein the King of Navarre and his three companions are DJs who once ruled York’s club scene but now have renounced the wild world of drink, dance and late nights, committing themselves instead to a retreat of abstinence: no women, no drink and definitely no dance floors. However, when the Princess of France and her entourage arrive, their solemn vows begin to unravel. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Jalen Ngonda: Performing in York for the first time since Futuresound’s Live At York Museum Gardens last July. Picture: Paul Rhodes
Soul show of the week: Jalen Ngonda, York Barbican, April 22, doors 7pm
AFTER appearing on Nile Rodgers & CHIC’s bill at Futuresound’s Live At York Museum Gardens last July, willowy soul singer and pianist Jalen Ngonda opens his seven-date spring tour at York Barbican. Originally from Maryland and now based in Liverpool, Ngonda’s voice and music recall the best of the great Sixties and Seventies’ soul artists, delivered with a contemporary edge. Deptford Northern Soul Club support. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
News Justin: Justin Fletcher in Justin Live, Justin Time To Rock!, York Barbican, Sunday, 11am and 2.30pm
For those about to rock: Justin Fletcher in Justin Time To Rock!
BAFTA-winning CBeebies legend Justin Fletcher MBE, erstwhile Mr Tumble from Something Special and Justin’s House, Gigglebiz and Gigglequiz star, teams up with his friends for a high-energy new theatre show bursting with music, dancing and giggles.
When DJ Engelbert, the coolest canine in the dog-house, launches a contest to find the best rock song in all the land, Justin and his band – Justin Time to Rock! – are determined to win, but can they deliver their song to DJ Engy before the sneaky Rock Lord and his sidekick Vulture try to steal it? Expect The Hokey Cokey, Music Man and Hands Up plus new songs written by Justin and his team. Box office: yorkbarbican.co.uk.
What can families expect in Justin Time To Rock!, Justin?
“Justin Time To Rock! is a brand-new story about how me and my friends formed our own band. You’ll hear lots of well-known songs and some brand-new ones too, written especially for the show. Amongst all the fun and laughter, we will need to keep an eye out for the mischievous Rock Lord and his sidekick Vulture, who are out to steal the band’s favourite tunes!”
What is your favourite aspect of performing live?
“Performing live to an excited family audience is such an uplifting and rewarding experience. The moment we run out on the stage, there is a great atmosphere, and the party begins! Our shows are really interactive, and it is great to see many generations of families and friends come together to watch the show and have fun!
What inspired the “music” theme for Justin Time Rock!?
“I’ve always loved music; it’s a very powerful way to express yourself. We wanted to create a show that features lots of different styles of music. I like rock’n’roll music in particular, because it is great to dance to and has a feel-good factor.”
What can you reveal about the new songs in the show?
“When we were writing the story about the band, we wanted to include some brand-new songs that that have never been heard before. One of my favourites is a song called Share A Little Sunshine, which is all about sharing happiness, kindness and friendship. Sharing these feelings can create a ripple effect through the audience, which in turn creates a great atmosphere.”
Your shows are very interactive. How will audiences be involved this time? Are there any moves or songs they should practise at home?
“There will be lots of well-known action songs to get the party started, so everyone should practise their Hokey Cokey, Head, Shoulders, Knees And Toes and an audience favourite, Hands Up. There will also be some new songs to dance to, including the Bubble Pop Bop! Bring on the Bubbles!
What do you enjoy about touring?
“The opportunity to meet so many of our friends all around the UK and to perform our show to them is pure joy!”
What advice would you give to young fans who dream of being on stage or even becoming a rock star?
“Always follow your dreams and be yourself. You never know, some of our songs in the show might encourage you to learn a musical instrument, or to sing, or dance, or to write a song. Surround yourself with good people who care for you and have a go!”
All aboard for the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Hamlet, set on a sinking ship in 1912. Picture: Marc Brenner
SOMETHING is still rotten in the state of Denmark, but now on board a sinking – not stinking – ship in 1912, rather than at Kronborg Castle, Elsinore.
Steered on tour by revival director Sophie Drake (what a good surname for nautical adventures), Rupert Goold’s Royal Shakespeare Company production takes to the seas on April 14 as the clocks to each side of the stage click round to midnight and beyond, marking the 114th anniversary of the demise of the RMS Titanic.
As chance would have it, the York Theatre Royal run opened that night, adding to the poignancy of the occasion. Hamlet is played out in Es Devlin’s design on an expansive deck that restores a spectacular rake to the Theatre Royal stage for the first time since the 2016 renovation, recalling the days when nervous touring companies and repertory shows alike used anti-rake furniture to defy the steep incline.
Complemented by Adam Cork’s sound design of the sea’s swirling motions and hum of the engine, the ship’s bow crests the waves in Akhila Krishnan’s video projections of the ever-rising, whirling, freezing waters, into which the coffin of King Hamlet is tossed, wrapped in the flag of Denmark.
“Hamlet is a play about the inevitability of death: the death of fathers, the death of kings, the mortality facing each and every one of us, but it is also a play about how to live, what makes a good life and a just one too, however brief our allotted time,” says Goold, in a concise summary of Shakespeare’s greatest play.
As happened on the Titanic, Hamlet’s tragedy will “come to pass in a little over two and a half hours”, taking place in real time, lending urgency to Goold and Shakespeare’s quest to answer the question of “what it means to be human and decisive when time is running out”.
In doing so, Goold achieves his desired balance of catastrophic thriller and poetic meditation, a wish made flesh in Ralph Davis’s Hamlet, who is as physical in the sound of speech as he is in movement.
Shaven head meets skull as Ralph Davis’s Hamlet recalls his childhood encounters with late jester Yorick in the RSC’s Hamlet. Picture: Marc Brenner
On occasion, you need to suspend disbelief and go with the flow instead, bathing in the innovation and imagination of an audacious production that is shipshape and Bristol fashion in its delivery. Georgia-May Myers’ Ophelia still dies by drowning; Davis’s Hamlet kills Richard Cant’s delightfully camp, theatrical Polonius with a pistol (referred to as a “rapier”) but fights Benjamin Westerby’s hot-headed Laertes with a sword.
Hamlet will be sent off to England as usual, only to return minutes later, but that is fine. The claustrophobia of a ship from which he cannot escape is a physical manifestation of his mental descent into Elsinore being a prison. Such constraints compound his “madness”.
Davis’s tall, lithe, shaven-headed Hamlet, often bare footed and in rolled-up trousers, is a chameleon in appearance, matching his mood, whether in dark coat, baggy white shirt, red jumper and shorts, ship’s captain’s cap or bowler hat and tails.
His voice keeps shifting gear and accent too, poised and reflective in his set-piece soliloquies; quick to anger with mother Gertrude (Poppy Miller) and murderous Claudius (Raymond Coulthard); haunted in his encounter with the Ghost of his father (Ian Hughes); sometimes playful yet earnest too with best friend Horatio (Colin Ryan) and the Player King (Ian Hughes); ever-changing in tone with Ophelia.
He can be mocking too, mimicking the American accents of dandy, cloth-headed old school friends Rosencrantz (Jamie Sayers) and Guildenstern (Julia Kass). Further impersonations bring out the theatrical in Hamlet (who commissions the incriminating play The Mousetrap), whether in mannerism or voice. At one point, Davis seems to assume a Belgian accent to say “murder” in the manner of David Suchet’s Poirot.
The auditorium may have felt as hot as the ship’s engine room, but setting a play full of water imagery on an icy ship is a voyage of re-discovery that brings out that sinking feeling, the depths of despair in Hamlet to full fathom five. If ‘to sea or not to sea’ is the question, the answer is See It Now.
Royal Shakespeare Company in Hamlet, York Theatre Royal, 7pm tonight; 2pm and 7pm tomorrow. Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Depths of despair: Ralph Davis’s Hamlet, adrift at sea in an undertaker’s coat in the RSC’s Hamlet. Picture: Marc Brenner
Young Composers Awards winners Kat Farn, left, Laura Kesiak and Edward Tait. Picture: Ben Pugh
KAT Farn, Edward Tait and Laura Kesiak have won the 19th National Centre for Early Music Young Composers Awards.
Presented in partnership with BBC Radio 3, the final took place on Thursday at the NCEM, St Margaret’s Church, Walmgate, York.
Kat Farn and Edward Tait were joint winners of the 19 to 25 years category with LABYRINTH and My Troubled Sense Doth Move respectively; Laura Kesiak’s In This Strange Labyrinth How Shall I Turn received the prize in the 18 years and under category.
Edward Tait: Composer of My Troubled Sense Doth Move. Picture: Charlie Kirkpatrick
The NCEM and BBC Radio 3 invited aspiring young composers to compose a new song setting for soprano, cornett and keyboard, to be performed by The Gonzaga Band (Jamie Savan, cornett, Faye Newton, soprano, and Steven Devine, keyboard), who are renowned for innovative programming underpinned by cutting-edge research.
The composers took inspiration from the experimental and innovative music of Claudio Monteverdi and his contemporaries, evoked in The Gonzaga Band’s recital programme Love’s Labyrinth, released on the Deux-Elles label in July 2025.
The song setting explored the theme of love through the relationship between the voice and instruments, setting a poem by Lady Mary Wroth, a contemporary of Shakespeare.
Kat Farn: Composer of LABYRINTH. Picture: Ben Pugh
The eight young finalists took part in a day of workshops at the NCEM, where the sessions were led by composer Professor Christopher Fox, honorary professor of music at the University of York, and The Gonzaga Band, who then performed the pieces in a public performance.
The concert was live-streamed and is available to view on the NCEM Young Composers Award website at https://www.youngcomposersaward.co.uk/
The shortlisted composers and pieces in the 19 to 25 category were: Kat Farn, LABYRINTH, Edward Tait, My Troubled Sense Doth Move, and Sequoia Ralph, In This Strange Labyrinth How Shall I Turn?
Laura Kesiak: Composer of In This Strange Labyrinth How Shall I Turn. Picture: Charlie Kirkpatrick
In the 18 and under category, the finalists were: Heath Thompson, HOW SHALL I TURN?; Ben Hadland, In This Strange Labyrinth; Laura Kesiak, In This Strange Labyrinth How Shall I Turn; Ernest Chui, In This STRANGE Labyrinth How Shall I Turn???, and Alma Nunez Debretzeni, In This Strange Labyrinth How Shall I Turn?
The 2026 panel of judges were: BBC Radio 3 producer Les Pratt, NCEM director Delma Tomlin and The Gonzaga Band’s Faye Newton.
Farn’s LABYRINTH, Tait’s My Troubled Sense Doth Move and Kesiak’s In This Strange Labyrinth How Shall I Turn will be premiered by The Gonzaga Band at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire on Tuesday, October 27, when the lunchtime concert will be recorded for BBC Radio 3’s Early Music Show and BBC Sounds.
National Centre for Early Music director and Young Composers Awards judge Delma Tomlin
Delma Tomlin said: “The Young Composers Award is one of the most important elements of our work here at the NCEM and is recognised as an important stepping stone in the composers’ careers. The finalists spent an intensive day in York working on their compositions and sharing ideas with fellow participants before having the chance to hear their music performed on stage.
“It was wonderful to enjoy such an array of outstanding music, and my congratulations go to Kat Farn, Edward Tait and Laura Kesiak. It has been a pleasure to join forces with The Gonzaga Band, and I’d also like to say a huge thank-you to Dr Christopher Fox, my fellow judges and BBC Radio 3, who will be recording Kat, Edward and Laura’s pieces at their premiere in Birmingham for broadcast later this year.”
Les Pratt said: “BBC Radio 3 has been in partnership with our colleagues at the National Centre for Early Music for nearly 20 years now, supporting this award. As the home of classical music, nurturing young talent is one of our core missions, as well as encouraging audiences to discover the latest creations.
The Gonzaga Band soprano and Young Composers Awards judge Faye Newton
Giving a voice to young composers is so important for classical music, enabling the art form to always stay fresh, reflect present trends and look to the future. We’re very much looking forward to sharing these exciting new compositions with listeners on the Early Music Show.”
The Gonzaga Band said: “It has been such a joy to be the collaborating ensemble for the 2026 competition. The young composers have done such a brilliant job that we have eight wonderfully varied and imaginative pieces in the final, any and all of which we’d be delighted to perform in our future recitals.”
The Young Composers Award is open to young composers resident in the UK up to and including the age of 25. The 2027 edition will be announced in late-autumn.
Rug weaver Jacqueline James with her loom at home in Rosslyn Street, Clifton, York
YORK Open Studios artists and makers are putting the final touches to their workplaces and studios, ready to welcome visitors across the next two weekends.
This annual event will run within a ten-mile radius of the city of York on April 18 & 19 and April 25 & 26 from 10am to 5pm each day, providing an opportunity to gain a sneak peek into where 150 artists work, their methods and inspirations, at 107 locations.
York Open Studios provides the chance to acquire work by established artists or to discover emerging artists, with 27 names new to the showcase, including two York St John University final-year students.
All manner of media will be represented, from traditional and contemporary painting and print, illustration, drawing and ceramics, to mixed media, glass, sculpture, jewellery, textiles and photography.
Charmian Ottaway, committee member and exhibiting contemporary designer jeweller says: “As an artist myself, I just love to show visitors how I work and also hear what they might be looking for.
Dodo, by 2026 York Open Studios sculptor Joanna Coupland
“As artists, we are all very proud of what we produce and hearing visitors’ responses and finding potential buyers can be really uplifting, especially if you often work alone and don’t directly meet your buyers. For visitors, it’s also a unique chance to see the city with pops of creativity along the way.”
Among the regular artists taking part are wire and paper sculptor Joanna Coupland; linocut printmaker Michelle Hughes; hand-woven textile artist Jacqueline James; illustrator Marco Godfrey-Murphy (MarcoLooks); ceramicist Ben Arnup; B-movie parodist illustrator Lincoln Lightfoot; digital illustrator Elliot Harrison (York 360); collage/mixed media artist Donna Maria Taylor; seascape artist Carolyn Coles; printmaker Susan Bradley; porcelain geometric sculptor Kate Buckley; Lauren’s Cow artist Lauren Terry and linocut printmaker Jane Dignum.
So too are: wood lino and riso printmaker Nic Fife; collage/mixed media artist Adele Karmazyn; hand-cut paper artist Anna Cook; photographer Simon Palmour; wildlife and landscape printmaker Michelle Hughes; ceramicist Ruth King; ceramicist Chiu-I Wu; wildlife linocut printmaker Gerard Hobson; botanical, geological and landscape artist David Campbell; land and seascape artist Freya Horsley; ceramicist Emily Stubbs; illustrator Ric Liptrot; memory, nostalgia and identity artist Leo Morey; collage/mixed media artist Sarah K Jackson and ceramicist Jill Ford.
Look out too for jewellery designer Evie Leach; printmaker Lesley Shaw; abstract expressionist Jo Walton; collagraph printmaker Sally Clarke; jewellery designer Jo Bagshaw; industrial, urban and rural landscape artist Adrienne French; linocut and collagraph printmaker Jen Dring; travel poster-inspired gouache artist Leon F Dumont; landscape artist Kate Pettitt; collage/mixed media artist Tim Pearce; linocut printmaker Carrie Lyall; plein-air oil painter Malcolm Ludvigsen; printmaker Rachel Holborow and digital photographer Lucinda Grange.
So many familiar names to be seen, but not Hearld, alas. Despite applying, York’s most successful artist, Mark Hearld, is bizarrely absent from this year’s runners and riders.
Prachi Bhatnagar: Making her York Open Studios debut at her Ouse Lea studio
His rejection is all the more bewildering given his high-profile month-long solo show, Collage Can Brio!, last December in his “most ambitious project to date” with The Scottish Gallery in Edinburgh, where “dogs leapt, birds circled and colour burst from every surface” of his dynamic paper constructions in a celebration of the rhythm and vitality of life, full of curiosity, movement and brio.
Inspired as ever by nature, the seasons and the everyday, his collages and prints were complemented by the unveiling of a tapestry created with Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh. Hey ho, now you know what York will be missing over these two weekends.
In his shock hiatus, make sure to venture out to artists new to the event:
Em Doodles Doodles: Hand-drawn pen and ink doodles of labradoodles, cockerpoos and other poodle-related poodles, inspired by Layla, Emma Brassington’s Australian labradoodle; Venue 6, 44 Beech Avenue, Bishopthorpe, York.
Paul Pavuk: Macro and minimal photography, expressed through an abstract lens, transforming textures, light and space into compositions that reveal unseen worlds; Venue 11, 13 Vincent Way, York.
Marcus Chapman’s wildlife photography: On view in St John’s Street, York
Dan George: Atmospheric, representative oils and pen and watercolour pencil sketches; Venue 20, 78 Albermarle Road, South Bank, York.
Amelia Donohoe: Handcrafted jewellery in gold and silver, using precious and semi-precious stones; Venue 24, 43 Nunthorpe Crescent, York.
Clare Stringer: Throws porcelain, then decorates it with a variety of mixed media, taking inspiration from nature and contrasting pure white clay with more messy additions; Venue 26, 80 Bishopthorpe Road, York.
Melanie Hill: Printmaking in multi-media designs combining wood and metal letterpress typography, lino printing, hand illustration and digital graphic design that gives a nod to the city of York; Venue 29, 47 Moss Street, York.
Chloe Heffernan: Entwining ancient Neolithic artwork and Irish folklore with modern identity, her work combines jewellery and illustration to tell stories and explore colloquial identities; Venue 31, The Workshop, 5a, The Crescent, York.
Walk The Walls York, by Moss Street printmaker Melanie Hill
McKinley & Moth: Designer/maker Shona works predominantly in sterling silver with basic hand tools and traditional craftsmanship, producing bold and original jewellery inspired by nature; Venue 35, 60 Hob Moor Drive, York.
The Spoonery: Transforming overlooked vintage cutlery into innovative wearable art, such as rings and necklaces; Venue 41, 31 Wetherby Road, Acomb, York.
Janie Stevens: Carves natural materials (stone and wood), now joined by steel, that she turns into flowing sculptural forms that invite exploration; Venue 46, Greenthwaite, Chantry, Main Street, Upper Poppleton, York.
Nicola Harper: Textile artist who uses free-motion machine embroidery, repurposed fabrics and fibres to create landscapes and seascapes inspired by North Yorkshire and beyond; Venue 53, 15 Kensington Road, Rawcliffe, York.
Prachi Bhatnagar: Using oils, pastes and pastels in bold colours and textures, her fluid, expressive work evokes the sensations, beauty and energy of being connected to nature; Venue 60, 78 Ouse Lea, York.
Prachi Bhatnagar: “Evoking the sensations, beauty and energy of being connected to nature”
Georgie Britton: Paintings exploring the colour relationships through the medium of acrylic paint, representing landscapes in expressive and abstracted forms; Venue 62, The Whitestone Gallery, St Peter’s School, York.
Katie Isaac: Hyperrealist oil paintings inspired by nature and idiosyncratic urban pen drawings that strive to bring what might be overlooked, or unseen, into sharp relief; Venue 67, 16 Feasegate, York.
Esme Mai: Photographic study of nature that explores the delicate beauty and transience of botanical forms; Venue 69, Rogues Atelier Artist Studios, Franklin’s Yard, 28a Fossgate, York.
Lucy Coultert, student: Collage & mixed media artist who creates abstract marks and textures to celebrate the beauty of imperfections; Venue 70, Creative Centre, York St John University, Lord Mayor’s Walk, York.
Alley Scout Art, student: Work focuses on wildlife and nature, from layered collage sculptures to wildlife prints and animal-themed tarot deck; Venue 70, Creative Centre, York St John University.
Photographer Marcus Chapman
Marcus Chapman Photography: UK wildlife photography, focusing on birds, plus landscape & travel; Venue 71, 42 St John’s Street, York.
Nigel Joesbury: Works mainly in soft pastels or acrylic paints, tending to paint what excites him, whether music, pop culture or the natural world; Venue 75, 21 Muncastergate, York.
Mountain & Molehill: Lighting designer Elizabeth creates lampshades and homeware, using vintage animal illustrations with a collage-style approach, suitable for classic and modern spaces; Venue 78, 20 Hempland Lane, Heworth, York.
Sinead Barker Textile Artist: Stitches detailed wildlife art with appliqué fabrics on dyed canvas, exploring connection to animals and her wellbeing through her process, producing decorative animal portraits; Venue 77, 17 Hempland Lane, Heworth, York.
Danny Aitken: His wheel-thrown ceramic vessels and urns incorporate elements of prehistoric artistic expression from the European Neolithic and Neolithic, fired with custom ash glazes; Venue 79, 31 Forest Way, Heworth, York.
Lewis Sand Art: Lewis Sand Art: Creating sculptures using only sand and water
Lewis Sand Art: Mark creates sculptures using only sand and water. When not sculpting a sandcastle, he likes to create quirky or whimsical sculptures, often of oversized everyday objects; Venue 86, 88 Millfield Lane, York.
Adrian P Layter: Illustrations that use poetic words and watercolour images to create beautiful and thought-provoking art. “Trees, fruit and Greek Muses all have their story to tell you,” he says; Venue 99, 29 Windmill Lane, York.
Abigail Gingele: Creates vibrant and highly detailed pet and wildlife portraits using coloured pencils in a style that emphasises realism and rich colour; Venue 102, 3 Moorland Road, York.
Sketchy Robot: Portraits and maps drawn by self-designed and built drawing robots. Visitors can have portraits or maps drawn live during York Open Studios, subject to capacity; Venue 106, 14 Heslington Lane, Fulford, York.
Kareem Baqai: Visual articulation and reactions to the rhythms and challenges of today’s world in paint, exploring the cyclic nature of the human condition through mark making, colour, form and composition; Venue 107, 19, Main Street, Fulford, York.
Kareem Baqai: Debut participation in York Open Studios in Main Street, Fulford
A public preview evening will take place tonight from 6pm to 9pm at various locations; check artists’ individual listings to find out who is taking part.
For more information on York Open Studios, visit yorkopenstudios.co.uk; to access the interactive map, download https://yorkopenstudios.co.uk/map/. Alternatively, a free printed directory is available from assorted tourist hubs and artist locations throughout York and the wider city region. When visiting studios, look out for bright yellow signage and balloons marking the venues.
To find out which artists are planning to give demonstrations during the event, look for the DEMO symbol in the artist listing in the brochure.
York Open Studios 2026: back story
RUN by artists and volunteers, this annual not-for-profit event represents the best of artists and makers living or working within a ten-mile radius of the city, chosen from the applications by the independent selection panel of arts and museums consultant Kate Brindley, sculptor Simon Gudgeon, ceramicist Wendy Lawrence, jewellery designer Mari Thomas and consultant Alex Woodall.
Artists open their doors to invite the public into their workspaces; some artists will share venues or exhibit their work in other spaces. Artists who are not in their own workspace may display a selection of tools and materials or even demonstrate their skills to provide a more ‘Open Studio’ experience for visitors.
The website (yorkopenstudios.co.uk) provides full information on the event, illustrating details of participating artists, including their medium and a map of York and its surrounding areas that highlights where visitors will be able to visit. These can be found in libraries, shops and galleries all over York.
Check out all the 2026 artists and makers at: https://yorkopenstudios.co.uk/artists-makers/.
Chris Pomfrett’s Tony, left, Victoria Delaney’s Maggie, Clare Halliday’s Hazel, Darren Barrott’s Marek, Joy Warner’s Sylvia, Laura Haynes-Bury’s Leanne, Daniel Wilmot’s Uncle Pete and Neil Vincent’s John in York Actors Collective’s Till The Stars Come. Picture: John Saunders
FOUNDER and director Angie Millard has an eye and an ear for picking a play for York Actors Collective.
Already in place for October 28 to 31 at York Theatre Royal Studio is Stephanie Jacob’s three-hander The Strongbox, winner of the 2018 VAULT Origins Award for outstanding new work for its story of domestic servitude and abuse of power, wherein authoritarian Kat, her ageing mother, Ma, and their teenaged slave, Maudie, jostle for power and affection in their dilapidated London home.
This week, Millard is staging the York premiere of another contemporary British domestic drama, Beth Steel’s Olivier Award-nominated Till The Stars Come Down, premiered at the National Theatre’s Dorfman Theatre as recently as January 2024.
She did not see that production, choosing it because she “liked the sound of the play”, and subsequently being impressed by its frank, earthy comedy, its pathos and home-and-away truths – and by its central structure of three sisters, matching her own upbringing in South Yorkshire.
Steel had set her play in a former mining village in Nottinghamshire, where the scars of the “scabs” who broke the picket lines when Margaret Thatcher took on the National Union of Mineworkers are still tender to the touch.
Those scars are no less raw in Yorkshire’s former mining communities, and so Millard, whose education began in a Catholic school in a pit village, has re-located Steel’s family conflagration further north.
Till The Stars Come Down is set on a single day, charting the pre-match, the match and the post-match discussions of Sylvia’s nuptials with Polish immigrant Marek, who now runs his own business.
Weddings make for heightened drama, for love’s blossom and blisters, for too much drinking, too much talking, leading to confessions, fall-outs, “inappropriate” behaviour, the exposure of prejudices and the re-opening of old wounds.
It could be the posh world of London society and country houses in Four Weddings And A Funeral or, in Steel’s case, the turbulence of a working-class family where “long-held secrets, passions, tensions and social changes transform the celebration into a chaotic blend of humour and tragedy”.
It opens with the three sisters, Clare Halliday’s bigoted Hazel, Victoria Delaney’s oft-married loose cannon Maggie (in riotous red) and Joy Warner’s phlegmatic Sylvia preparing for the big day – the routine of make-up, hairspray, dresses and endless cups of tea – alongside Lucinda Rennison’s ever-indiscreet, aspirational Aunty Carol and Laura Haynes-Bury’s Leanne, Hazel’s 16-year-old daughter, whose gaze is solely for scrolling her mobile phone.
The men will make their entries: the sisters’ father Tony (Chris Pomfrett), still grieving for his late wife; his brother Uncle Pete (Daniel Wilmot), Carol’s partner, who has never forgiven him for crossing the picket line, and Neil Vincent’s John, who has lost interest in wife Carol on account of his obsession with the woman in scarlet, Delaney’s Maggie.
The only man who is happy rather than dischuffed with his lot in life is Darren Barrott’s (CORRECT) Marek, but a can of worms marked “zenophobia” will be opened as the wedding day progresses.
Steel writes with observational wit, social commentary and, above all, a telepathic understanding of the relationship of sisters. Warner’s Sylvia is the solid, reliable one who has looked after mother and father alike; Delaney’s Maggie and Halliday’s Hazel are the ones at war, and together they deliver a brilliantly kinetic finale, reaffirming their status as two of the supreme actresses on the York circuit.
Delaney’s performance is all the more remarkable for her taking on the role at less than three weeks’ notice. Haynes-Bury impresses with her deadpan demeanour and Rennison rises to the challenge of drunken acting with aplomb.
Barrott, in his YSP debut after catching the eye with York Settlement Community Players, is outstanding as “outsider” Marek; Pomfrett’s Tony wears that hangdog expression he has made his trademark; Vincent’s John plays the villain’s hand well and Wilmot’s Uncle Pete is all bonhomie on the surface until the gripes of the past boil over anew.
Millard directs with admirably flowing movement and quick scene changes, while ensuring her cast lets the full flavour of Steel’s clashing, dysfunctional family flood out, bringing out the rising stress to the max and emphasising the power of the sisterhood too.
York Actors Collective presents Till The Stars Come Down, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, 7.30pm tonight and tomorrow; 2pm and 6pm, Saturday. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Amabile Clarinet Trio: Playing innovative programme at York Late Music concert
HAMLET on a sinking ship, family politics on a calamitous wedding day and artists’ studios opening on two weekends are the headline acts on Charles Hutchinson’s latest bill of arts delights.
Classical concert of the week: York Late Music presents Amabile Clarinet Trio, Unitarian Chapel, St Saviourgate, York, April 11, 7.30pm
THE Amabile Clarinet Trio – York clarinettist Lesley Schatzberger, cellist Nicola Tait Baxter and pianist Paul Nicholson – presents an innovative programme featuring two premieres plus Thea Musgrave’s Canta Canta!, patron Nicola LeFanu’s Lullaby and Nocturne, American composer Robert Muczynski’s rarely played Fantasy Trio and the first York performance ofAlexander von Zemlinsky’s Trio in D minor.
The UK premiere of David Lancaster’s Canzone Sospesoand a world premiere from composer David Power will be complemented by a set of Morris newly transcribed by York composer Steve Crowther. Lancaster gives a pre-concert talk at 6.45pm, to be enjoyed with a complimentary glass of wine or juice. Tickets: latemusic.org or on the door.
Lesley Jones and Steve Coates: Teaming up for the last time for Swing When You Sing
Farewell concert of the week: Steve Coates Music Productions present Swing When You Sing, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, April 12, 7.30pm
BEV Jones Music Company and The Jubilee Celebration Singers producer Lesley Jones bids farewell to the York stage after 20 years of mounting shows with Swing When You Sing, presented with Steve Coates Music Productions.
Alan Owens’s 16-piece big band will be joined on stage by singers Ruth McNeil, Annabel van Griethuysen, Hayley Bamford, Johanna Hartley, Adele Barlow, Larry Gibson, Terry Ford, Stephen Wilson, David Hartley and Geoff Walker to perform Rat Pack, Minnie The Moocher, Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, Under The Sea, Cheek To Cheek, Sway (Latin), Fever, Mr Bojangles, Amy Winehouse’s Back To Black and Sing, Sing, Sing (with Bob Fosse-style dancing). “Varied? Yes! Upbeat? Yes! Emotional? Yes!” says Lesley. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
The poster for the launch of Bishy Road Community Choir
Start-up of the week: Bishy Road Community Choir, Stables Yoga Centre, Nunmill Street, York, from April 13
THE Stables Yoga Centre and Rachel Davies are setting up the Bishy Road Community Choir to run on Mondays from 5pm to 5.50pm at £5 a session from April 13. This welcoming, musically accessible group will use song to promote happiness, wellbeing and community. No experience or musical skills are needed; only enthusiasm to try feel-good singing. To book a place, visit stablesyoga.co.uk/timetable.
Wedded bliss amid wedding-day blisters: Darren Barrott’s Marek and Joy Warner’s Sylvia in York Actors Collective’s Till The Stars Come Down
Family politics of the week: York Actors Collective in Till The Stars Come Down, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, April14 to 18, 7.30pm, Tuesday to Friday; 2pm and 6pm, Saturday
PREMIERED at the National Theatre in 2024 and now receiving its York premiere, Beth Steel’s contemporary British family drama is set on the wedding day of Sylvia and Marek in a South Yorkshire mining town.
Directed by Angie Millard, Till The Stars Come Down explores the tumultuous dynamics of a working-class family in a changing world of economic decline and political shifts as long-held secrets, passions, and tensions surrounding class, immigration, and social change spill over into chaos and tragedy. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Ralph Davis’s Hamlet in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Hamlet, set on a sinking ship, on tour at York Theatre Royal
Titanic anniversary event of the week: Royal Shakespeare Company in Hamlet, York Theatre Royal, April 14 to 18,7pm plus 1.30pm, April 16 and 2pm, April 18
LET director Rupert Goold introduces the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Hamlet, starring Ralph Davis, as the tour sets sail for York on the 114th anniversary of the Titanic’s descent to the depths. “Our production is set aboard a ship but one that is soon to founder, going down with all hands,” he says.
“Its inspiration comes from the most famous sinking in history, and just as that icy tragedy came to pass in a little over two and a half hours, our play takes place in real time and for about as long, as much catastrophic thriller as poetic meditation. This production asks what it means to be human and decisive when time is running out.” Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Jan Brierton and Henry Normal: Poetic humour at Milton Rooms, Malton
Poetry at the double: Edge Street Live presents Henry Normal and Jan Brierton, Milton Rooms, Malton, April 16, 7.30pm
WRITER, poet, television & film producer and Manchester Poetry Festival founder Henry Normal is joined by Dubliner Jan Brierton for an evening of poetry and humour. Normal, whose credits include co-writing The Mrs Merton Show and the first series of The Royle Family, will be reading from his new book A Quiet Promise.
Brierton riffs on modern life, love and friendships, wellness and ageing, rage and domestic exasperation in her poetic reflections on being a wife, mother, daughter, sister and retired raver, plus plenty of stuff about tea, lipstick and biscuits. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
Aggers & Tuffers: The chatter of cricket and the clatter of wickets at York Barbican
Not just cricket: Jonathan Agnew and Phil Tufnell in An Audience With Aggers & Tuffers, York Barbican, April 16, 7.30pm
TEST Match Special commentator-and-pundit duo Jonathan Agnew and Phil Tufnell take to the road for more cricket chat from beyond the boundary. Former Leicestershire and England fast bowler and three-decade BBC cricket correspondent Aggers teams up anew with record-breaking former England spin bowler and crowd favourite Tuffers, who gives his spin on his maverick playing days and second wind as a media personality on I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here, Strictly Come Dancing and A Question Of Sport. Box office update: limited availability at yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Maureen Onwunali: Slam champ spinning words at Say Owt
Slam champ of the week: Say Owt presents Maureen Onwunali, The Crescent, York, April 17, 7.30pm
YORK spoken-word collective Sat Owt’s guest poet for April’s gathering will be Dublin-born Nigerian poet and two-time national slam champion Maureen Onwunali.
Rich with political observations and carefully crafted verse, her work has been featured by musicians, radio shows and organisations, such as the British Film Institute, Penguin, BBC, Roundhouse, Apples and Snakes, Obsidian Foundation and the Poetry Society. Box office: seetickets.com/event/say-owt-slam-featuring-maureen-onwunali/the-crescent/3588134.
Jacqueline James: Demonstrating her hand-woven rug-making in Rosslyn Street, Clifton, at York Open Studios
Art event of the month: York Open Studios, York and beyond, April 18 & 19 and April 25 & 26, 10am to 5pm
ARTISTS and makers involved in York Open Studios are putting the final touches to their workplaces and studios within York and a ten-mile radius of the city, in readiness to welcome visitors across two weekends.
This annual event offers the chance to gain a sneak peek into where the artists work, their methods and inspirations, whether a regular participant or the 27 newcomers, spanning traditional and contemporary painting and print, illustration, drawing, ceramics, mixed media, glass, sculpture, jewellery, textiles and photography. For more information, visit yorkopenstudios.co.uk; access the interactive map at yorkopenstudios.co.uk/map.
Book launch event of the week: Michelle Hughes, Printing Birds and Wildlife in Linocut, The Harriet Room, York Cemetery, York, April 15, 6.30pm
Michelle Hughes at work on a linocut. Picture: Jackson Portraiture
YORK printmaker Michelle Hughes is holding a special evening to celebrate the launch of her book Printing Birds and Wildlife in Linocut and her upcoming tenth anniversary in business.
Published in February, Michelle’s beautifully illustrated book shares how to design, carve and print birds and wildlife using traditional linocut techniques, guiding readers from simple one-colour prints through to more advanced multi-colour methods, including jigsaw, reduction and multi-block printing.
“Whether you are completely new to linocut or already exploring printmaking, the book offers clear step-by-step guidance, practical tips and creative inspiration for capturing birds and wildlife in this rewarding craft,” says Michelle.
She started her creative business on June 1 2016 in the wake of her fourth redundancy. After a 25-year career in design, she decided to take a leap by working for herself.
The cover artwork for Michelle Hughes’s book Printings Birds and Wildlife in Linocut
What began with freelance graphic design and a few linocut prints has grown into a thriving creative practice. Today, Michelle creates limited-edition linocut prints, teaches in-person workshops, runs online courses for students around the world and produces commissions for organisations, including the National Trust.
What to expect at the event:
A short talk about Michelle’s journey to becoming a professional printmaker
Behind-the-scenes insights into how the book was created
The chance to see original prints and lino blocks featured in the book
A Q&A session about linocut printmaking
Book signing
Opportunity to buy signed copies
“Come and celebrate wildlife, printmaking and the joy of carving and printing by hand,” says Michelle, who will be participating in York Open Studios 2026 at Venue 37, in St Swithin’s Walk, Holgate, York, on April 18 & 19 and April 25 & 26, 10am to 5pm.
Ralph Davis’s Hamlet in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Hamlet, set on a sinking ship, on tour at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Marc Brenner
HAMLET on a sinking ship, family politics on a calamitous wedding day and artists’ studios opening on two weekends are the headline acts on Charles Hutchinson’s latest bill of arts delights.
Titanic anniversary event of the week: Royal Shakespeare Company in Hamlet, York Theatre Royal, until Saturday,7pm plus 1.30pm, April 16 and 2pm, April 18
LET director Rupert Goold introduce the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Hamlet, starring Ralph Davis, as the tour sets sail for York on the 114th anniversary of the Titanic’s descent to the depths. “Our production is set aboard a ship but one that is soon to founder, going down with all hands,” he says.
“Its inspiration comes from the most famous sinking in history, and just as that icy tragedy came to pass in a little over two and a half hours, our play takes place in real time and for about as long, as much catastrophic thriller as poetic meditation. This production asks what it means to be human and decisive when time is running out.” Box office: 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Wedded bliss amid wedding-day blisters: Darren Barrott’s Marek and Joy Warner’s Sylvia in York Actors Collective’s Till The Stars Come Down
Family politics of the week: York Actors Collective in Till The Stars Come Down, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, 7.30pm, tonight to Friday; 2pm and 6pm, Saturday
PREMIERED at the National Theatre in 2024 and now receiving its York premiere, Beth Steel’s contemporary British family drama is set on the wedding day of Sylvia and Marek in a South Yorkshire mining town.
Directed by Angie Millard, Till The Stars Come Down explores the tumultuous dynamics of a working-class family in a changing world of economic decline and political shifts as long-held secrets, passions, and tensions surrounding class, immigration, and social change spill over into chaos and tragedy. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Aggers & Tuffers: The chatter of cricket and the clatter of wickets at York Barbican
Not just cricket: Jonathan Agnew and Phil Tufnell in An Audience With Aggers & Tuffers, York Barbican, tomorrow, 7.30pm
TEST Match Special commentator-and-pundit duo Jonathan Agnew and Phil Tufnell take to the road for more cricket chat from beyond the boundary. Former Leicestershire and England fast bowler and three-decade BBC cricket correspondent Aggers teams up anew with record-breaking former England spin bowler and crowd favourite Tuffers, who gives his spin on his maverick playing days and second wind as a media personality on I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here, Strictly Come Dancing and A Question Of Sport. Box office update: limited availability at yorkbarbican.co.uk.
Patricia Veale School of Dance: Showcasing young talent in Show Dance
Dance show of the week: Patricia Veale School of Dance in Show Dance, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, Friday, 7.30pm, and Saturday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm
IN an exciting celebration of dance, the Patricia Veale School of Dance showcases its talented dancers in their very first Show Dance, drawing inspiration from classic musicals on film and Broadway, complete with top hats, flair and razzle-dazzle. Expect a vibrant mix of ballet, jazz, contemporary, tap and much more besides. Box office: 01904 501935 or josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Rainey’s Revue: Evoking A Night In Harlem in….Helmsley
Jazz gig of the week: Rainey’s Revue: A Night In Harlem, Helmsley Arts Centre, Friday, 7.30pm
LED by Richard Exall on tenor saxophone and clarinet and musical director Dom Barnett on piano, Rainey’s Revue presents meticulous arrangements of Ma Rainey’s songs while capturing the essence of the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s.
Sam Kelly, on drums, and Marianne Windham, on double bass, set the rhythmic foundation for the enchanting voices of Chrissie Myles and Emily Windham, whose vocals evoke the jazz clubs of yesteryear. Box office: 01439 771700 or helmsleyarts.co.uk.
Comedy gig of the week: Hilarity Bites Comedy Club presents David Eagle, Anth Young and Nicola Mantalios, Milton Rooms, Malton, Friday, 8pm
HILARITY Bites headliner David Eagle has performed on BBC Radio 2’s topical comedy series The Now Show, supports Boothby Graffoe on tour frequently and is one third of three-time BBC Radio 2 Folk Award-winning band The Young’uns. Being blind, his comedy often explores how his disability means the most ordinary, commonplace events are turned into surreal and convoluted dramas.
Fellow north eastern act Anth Young finished runner-up in the Great Yorkshire Fringe New Comedian of the Year competition in 2017 in York. Completing the bill, Greek-Geordie bisexual comedian Nicola Mantalios won the 2025 Funny Women Stage Awards, hosts weekend shows at Newcastle Stand and runs her own gigs, such as Queers and Beers, in Newcastle. Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
The Rollin Stoned: Covering the hits and deeper cuts from The Rolling Stones’ 1960s’ catalogue at Milton Rooms, Malton
Tribute gig of the week: The Rollin Stoned, Milton Rooms, Malton, Saturday, 8pm
THE rock’n’roll circus rolls into Malton for a tribute to The Rolling Stones that focuses on the Brian Jones years from 1964 to 1969. Now in its 27th year, in The Rollin Stoned show the costumes are shamelessly camp, gaudy and fabulous, the instruments vintage, the wit irreverent, the trademark tongue never far from the cheek, but never to the detriment of the music.
As Keith Richards’ late mother, Doris, once remarked of the line-up featuring Mick Jaguar, Byron Jones, Keith Retched, Bill Wymandy, Charlie Waits and pianist Nicky Popkins: “Phenomenal…I can’t wait to tell Keith and Mick that you could easily stand in for them.” Box office: 01653 696240 or themiltonrooms.com.
Prachi Bhatnagar: Making York Open Studios debut at her Ouse Lea studio in York
Art event of the month: York Open Studios, York and beyond, April 18 & 19 and April 25 & 26, 10am to 5pm
ARTISTS and makers involved in York Open Studios are putting the final touches to their workplaces and studios within York and a ten-mile radius of the city, in readiness to welcome visitors across two weekends.
This annual event offers the chance to gain a sneak peek into where the artists work, their methods and inspirations, whether a regular participant or the 27 newcomers, spanning traditional and contemporary painting and print, illustration, drawing, ceramics, mixed media, glass, sculpture, jewellery, textiles and photography. For more information, visit yorkopenstudios.co.uk; access the interactive map at yorkopenstudios.co.uk/map.
