NORTH Yorkshire artist Paul
Blackwell will exhibit his Treescapes at Village Gallery, Colliergate, York,
from January 14 to February 22.
Blackwell and his wife,
fellow artist Anne Thornhill, ran a gallery in Grosmont, on the North York
Moors, for more than 20 years before selling up and moving to an 18th century
farmhouse overlooking the Esk Valley near Whitby. Here they have a barn studio,
where they both continue to work.
Ash Tree In The Late Autumn Light, in pastel, by Paul Blackwell
Blackwell uses many different
media, from oil and acrylic to pastel and pastel pencil. “Paul is passionate
about wildlife and the natural landscape and a lot of his work is done from the
14 acres they have as a small nature reserve,” says Village Gallery owner and
curator Simon Main.
Blackwell reveals he has always
had two passions in his life. “The first is rugby and the second, malt whisky,”
he says. “But I also like to paint a bit: landscapes mainly.
Paul Blackwell and Anne Thornhill’s home and studio in the Esk Valley
“My work is a reflection of
my interest in the complex and emotional interchange of colours, as I attempt
to convey the vibrancy and radiance of a landscape and the depth of its
emotional impact.
“I often use the medium of
pastel as it’s particularly suited to my way of working, using colour
juxtapositions to create energy and dynamism, rhythm and balance.”
The Strid Woods, in pastel, by Paul Blackwell
After starting work on site, usually in monochrome, Blackwell enjoys exploring the colour structure once back in the studio. Frequently keeping the formal content simple, he creates a uniformity of atmosphere and feeling through his application of colours, as can be seen at Village Gallery from next Tuesday.
Gallery opening hours are Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm. In addition, the gallery will play host to a preview evening on January 13 from 5pm to 8pm, when Paul Blackwell will be on hand to discuss his work. Free tickets are available from Simon Main on 07972 428382 or 01904 411444 or at simon@village-on-the-web.com.
Shed Seven: under starter’s orders for a day at the Donny races
YORK’S revived Britpoppers Shed Seven will play Live After Racing at Doncaster Racecourse on August 15 on a day that will combine chasing winners with Chasing Rainbows.
Tickets for this Music Live performance will go on pre-sale for Artist + O2 customers via ticketmaster.co.uk at 10am on Wednesday (January 8), followed by general sale on Friday (January 10) at 10am at ticketmaster.co.uk, with more information available at doncaster-racecourse.co.uk.
The Sheds have just mounted their biggest ever Shedcember winter tour, chalking up their record run of 23 shows between November 21 and December 21, with Leeds First Direct Arena on December 7 at the epicentre.
In June 2018, they played to 8,000 people in the open air at Manchester’s Castlefield Bowl. Could Doncaster Racecourse on an August summer’s evening surpass that total? Wait and see!
Gates will open at 11.15am for the 1.10pm racecard; Shed Seven will be under starter’s orders at 5.45pm.
Lynne Dawson: ” bewitching in an unattributed version of Goldilocks”
Review: York Guildhall Orchestra,
York Barbican, January 4 2020
TUBBY the Tuba was the headline
star and Goldilocks & the Three Bears put in an unscheduled appearance at
York Guildhall Orchestra’s family concert on Saturday afternoon.
There
were also sizeable selections from two musicals, Les Miserables and The Sound Of Music, while the more traditional delights of Johann Strauss the Younger
added Viennese touches to the New Year hi-jinks. A good time was had by all.
Not
that the YGO took its duties lightly. On the contrary, behind Simon Wright’s
genial baton there lurks a hard taskmaster; he ensured his charges delivered their
customary high standards.
Anyone
whose 2019 was less than satisfying will have been soothed by the story of
Valjean’s journey from despair to hope, evoked by the musical version of Victor
Hugo’s Les Miserables. YGO brought reassurance to this emotional
roller-coaster: we can all now face 2020 with confidence.
So
too with the Von Trapp family, whose real-life journey from Nazi Germany to
liberation in the USA inspired Rodgers & Hammerstein to write The Sound Of Music60 years ago. Here we had 15 singers from York
Stage Musicals (otherwise unidentified), half sopranos and half children,
adding vivacity and verve to the familiar songs.
Brian Kingsley: soloist for Tubby The Tuba
Although her name unaccountably escaped mention on the front cover of the programme, YGO president Lynne Dawson’s contribution to the afternoon was invaluable, as narrator in the two children’s stories. Her charming, chameleon voices brought her characters instantly to life: we felt Tubby’s disappointments keenly.
She was partnered here by Opera
North ace Brian Kingsley, the north’s finest tuba player, whose velvet tones
were plaintively suggestive.
Dawson
was equally bewitching in an unattributed version of Goldilocks, which
amusingly made reference to other favourites such as Brahms’s Lullaby and Henry
Bishop’s Home, Sweet Home. Soloists in both wind and brass were really on their
toes here.
The
Strauss family and Franz Lehár filled in the rest. And how. The orchestra’s
kitchen department had fun popping the corks in the Champagne polka and
providing fireworks for Thunder & Lightning. The brass went to town in the
Tritsch-Tratsch polka and the crazy ending of Lehár’s Gold & Silver.
But
it was the majestic sweep of the strings in two Strauss waltzes, The Emperor
and The Blue Danube, which lives in the memory. The audience clapped heartily in
the Radetzky march at the close: everyone went away happy. This event has
deservedly become a New Year tradition in York.
Next
up: YGO’s 40th anniversary concert at
York Barbican on February 15. Don’t miss it.
Special guest: Lisette Auton will perform at Say Owt Slam #24
SAY Owt, York’s most raucous spoken-word hub, returns on February 1 for its
first competitive slam of the new decade at The Basement, City Screen.
Slots are open to take part in Say Owt Slam #24 by emailing
info@sayowt.co.uk. Artistic director Henry Raby, the York performance poet, playwright and
activist, says: “Poets get a maximum of three minutes each to wow the audience
with their words, culminating in the winner receiving a cash prize and bragging
rights.
“Whether travelling from across the country or a homegrown York talent,
each one brings a totally different style of humour, politics and heart to the
gig.”
Say Owt has run slams for five years, being highly commended in the 2018
York Culture Awards and prompting audience members to comment: “Expertly put
together, a delightful extravaganza”; “I love it here!” and “Felt so
welcome at my first slam, great atmosphere. Not what I expected”.
“Each poet brings a totally different style of humour, politics and heart to Say Owt Slam,” says artistic director Henry Raby
Say Owt Slam invariably feature a special guest too, on this occasion award-winning
Darlington disabled activist, writer, poet, spoken-word
artist, theatre-maker and creative practitioner Lisette Auton.
“I do stuff with words,” says Lisette, a
Penguin Random House UK WriteNow mentee for her children’s novel inspired by
the North East coast.
“Her poetry is full of stories, humour and
lyrical warmth and all of her work seeks to make the invisible visible,” says
Henry.
Tickets for this 7.30pm show cost £6 from the City Screen box office or at ticketing.picturehouses.com or £7 on the door.
Veteran Yorkshire arts journalist CHARLES HUTCHINSON doffs his cap to the makers and shakers who made and shook the arts world in York and beyond in 2019.
Alan Ayckbourn at 80 in Scarborough. Picture: Tony Bartholomew
New play
of the year: Alan
Ayckbourn’s Birthdays Past, Birthdays Present, at Stephen Joseph Theatre,
Scarborough, from September 4
Sir Alan
Ayckbourn penned one play to mark his 80th birthday, then decided it
wasn’t the right one. Instead, writing more quickly than he had in years, he
constructed a piece around…birthdays. Still the master of comedy of awkward
truths.
Honourable mention: Kay Mellor’s Band Of Gold, Leeds Grand Theatre, November 28 to December 14.
Lili Miller (Catherine) and Pedro Leandro (Rodolpho) in A View From The Bridge at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Ian Hodgson
You
Should Have Seen It production of the year: Arthur Miller’s A View From The Bridge, York
Theatre Royal, September 20 to October 12.
Once more, the
sage Arthur Miller bafflingly did not draw the crowds – a Bridge too far? – but
Theatre Royal associate director Juliet Forster found resonance anew for this
age of rising intolerance in Trumped-Up America and Brexit Britain.
Chris Knight as Donkey in York Stage Musicals’ Shrek The Musical
York’s
home-grown show of the year: York Stage Musicals in Shrek The Musical, Grand Opera House, York, September
12 to 21
Nik Briggs
swapped directing for his stage return after five years in the wind-assisted
title role and stunk the place out in Shrek tradition in a good way. Jacqueline
Bell‘s Princess Fiona and Chris Knight’s Donkey were terrific too.
Honourable mention: Pick Me Up Theatre in Monster Makers, 41 Monkgate, October 23 to 27
Rigmarole Theatre in When The Rain Stops Falling
Company
launch of the year: Rigmarole
Theatre in When The Rain Stops Falling, 41 Monkgate, York, November 14 to 16
MAGGIE
Smales, a previous Hutch Award winner for her all-female Henry V for York
Shakespeare Project, set up Rigmarole to mount Andrew Bovell’s apocalyptic
Anglo-Aussie family drama. More please.
Comic capers: Mischief Theatre in The Comedy About A Bank Robbery
Touring
play of the year: The
Comedy About A Bank Robbery, Grand Opera House, York, February 5 to 12
Crime pays
for Mischief Theatre with a riotous show, so diamond-cutter sharp, so rewarding,
in its comedy, that it is even better than the original botched masterplan, The
Play That Goes Wrong.
Honourable mention: Nigel Slater’s Toast, York Theatre Royal, November 19 to 23
Sarah Crowden and Susan Penhaligon in Handbagged at York Theatre Royal
Political
play of the year:
Handbagged, York Theatre Royal, April 24 to May 11
In a play of wit, brio and intelligence, Moira Buffini presents
a double double act of 20th century titans, Margaret Thatcher and
The Queen, one from when both ruled, the other looking back at those days, as
they talk but don’t actually engage in a conversation.
Emma Rice: director of the year
Director
of the year: Emma Rice
for Wise Children’s Wise Children, in March, and Enid Blyton’s Malory Towers, in
September, both at York Theatre Royal
Emma Rice,
once of Cornwall’s pioneering Kneehigh Theatre and somewhat briefly of
Shakespeare’s Globe, has found her mojo again with her new company Wise
Children, forming a fruitful relationship with York Theatre Royal to boot.
Watch out for Wuthering Heights in 2021.
Director John R Wilkinson in rehearsals for Hello And Goodbye at York Theatre Royal
York
director of the year:
John R Wilkinson, Hello And Goodbye, York Theatre Royal Studio, November
Theatre Royal associate artist John R Wilkinson had long called for the return of in-house productions in the Studio and what he called “the blue magic of that space”. He duly delivered a superb reading of Athol Fugard’s apartheid-era South African work starring Jo Mousley and Emilio Iannucci.
Oh what a knight: Sir Ian McKellen
Comedy show of the year: Sir Ian McKellen in Ian McKellen On Stage With Tolkien, Shakespeare, Others…And You, Grand Opera House, York, June 17
A delightful variation on the An Evening With…format, wherein Sir Ian McKellen celebrated his 80th birthday with a tour through his past. His guide to Shakespeare’s 37 plays was a particular joy.
Honourable mention: John Osborne in John Peel’s Shed/Circled In The Radio Times, Pocklington Arts Centre bar, March 27
Bonnie Milnes of Bonneville And The Bailers
Event launch
of the year: Live
In Libraries York, York Explore, autumn
In the
wood-panelled Marriott Room, veteran busker David Ward Maclean and Explore York
mounted a series of four intimate, low-key concerts, the pick of them being Bonnieville
And The Bailers’ magical set on October 25. Along with The Howl & The Hum’s
Sam Griffiths, Bonnie Milnes is the blossoming York songwriter to watch in
2020.
Meet The Caravan Guys:Theo Mason Wood, left, and Albert Haddenham discuss masculinity in How To Beat Up Your Dad at The Arts Barge’s Riverside Festival
Festival
of the Year: The
Arts Barge’s Riverside Festival, by the Ouse, July and August
Under the
umbrella of Martin Witts’s Great Yorkshire Fringe, but celebrating its own identity
too, The Arts Barge found firm footing with two locations, an ever-busy tent
and, hurrah, the newly docked, freshly painted barge, the Selby Tony. The Young
Thugs showcase, Henry Raby, Rory Motion, Katie Greenbrown, jazz gigs, a naked Theo
Mason Wood; so many highs.
Honourable mentions: York Festival of Ideas, June; Aesthetica Short Film Festival, November.
Terry Hall: leading The Specials at York Barbican. Picture: Simon Bartle
York Barbican gig of the year: The Specials, May 9
Still The Specials, still special, on their 40th anniversary world tour, as the Coventry ska veterans promoted their first studio album in 39 years, Encore, still hitting the political nail on the head as assuredly as ever.
Honourable mentions: David Gray, March 30; Art Garfunkel, April 18; Kelly Jones, September 14.
Mocking Malvolio: Cassie Vallance’s Fabian, back left, Andrew Phelps’s Sir Andrew Aguecheek and Fine Time Fontayne’s Sir Toby Belch wind up Claire Storey’s Malvolio in Twelfth Night. Picture: Charlotte Graham
Happiest nights of the year: Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre in Twelfth Night, Castle car park, York, July 4 and September 1
JOYCE Branagh, Kenneth’s sister, set Shakespeare’s comedy in the Jazz Age, serving up “Comedy Glamour” with a Charleston dash and double acts at the double. “Why, this is very midsummer madness,” the play exhorts, and it was, gloriously so, especially on the last night, when no-one knew what lay just around the corner for the doomed Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre.
Samuel Edward Cook in Glory Dazed
Most moving night of the year: Glory
Dazed, East Riding Theatre, Beverley, January 26
Cat Jones’s play, starring York actor Samuel Edward Cook, brings
to light issues surrounding the mental health of ex-servicemen as they seek to
re-integrate into civilian society while struggling with Post-Traumatic Stress
Disorder. The post-show discussion with ex-soldiers from Hull spoke even
louder.
Serena Manteghi in Build A Rockdet. Picture: Sam Taylor
Solo show of the year: Serena
Manteghi in Build A Rocket, autumn tour
NO sooner had she finished playing Ophelia in Shakespeare’s
Rose Theatre’s Hamlet than Serena Manteghi revived her remarkable role as a seaside
resort teenage single mum in Christopher York’s award-winning coruscating play.
Honourable mention: James Swanton in Irving Undead, York Medical Society, October 10 to 12.
A Blessed encounter: interviewing Yorkshireman Brian
Favourite interview of the year: Brian Blessed, giving oxygen to his An Evening With Brian Blessed show at Grand Opera House, York, in August
The exuberance for life in Brian – Yorkshire man mountain, actor, mountaineer and space travel enthusiast – at the age of 83 would inspire anyone to climb Everest or reach for the stars.
Old soul in a Newman: John Newman’s hot, hot gig at The Crescent
Gig of
the year: John
Newman, The Out Of The Blue Tour, The Crescent, York, June 30
THE unsettled
Settle sound of soul, John Newman, and his soul mates parked their old camper van
outside the almost unbearably hot Crescent, threw caution to the wind and burnt
the house down on a night that must
have been like watching Joe Cocker or Otis Redding on the rise in the Sixties.
Honourable mentions: Nick Lowe’s Quality Rock’n’Roll Revue, Pocklington Arts Centre, June 25; The Howl & The Hum, The Crescent, York, December 14
Van Gogh: ‘ere, there and everywhere at York St Mary’s
Exhibition
of the year: Van
Gogh: The Immersive Experience, York St Mary’s, York, now extended to April 2020
This 360-degree digital art installation uses technology to create
a constantly moving projected gallery of 200 of Vincent Van Gogh’s most famous
19th century works in the former church. Breathtaking, innovative, and,
yes, worth the admission charge.
Honourable mention: Ruskin, Turner and The Storm Cloud, Watercolours and Drawings, York Art Gallery, from March 28
Agatha Meehan, centre, as Dorothy in The Wizard Of Oz at Leeds Playhouse
Christmas
production of the year: The Wizard Of Oz, Leeds Playhouse, until January 25
AFTER its
£15.8 million transformation from the West Yorkshire Playhouse to Leeds
Playhouse, artistic director James Brining gave West Yorkshire’s premier
theatre the grandest, dandiest of re-opening hits. Still time to travel down
the Yellow Brick Road with Agatha Meehan, 12, from York, as Dorothy.
Dame Berwick Kaler’s fina;l wave at the end of his 40 years of pantomimes at York Theatre Royal. Picture: Anthony Robling
Exit
stage left: Berwick
Kaler, retiring on February 2 after 40 years as York Theatre Royal’s pantomime
dame; Tim Hornsby, bowing out from booking acts for Fibbers on June 29, after 27
years and 7,500 shows in York; Damian Cruden, leaving the Theatre Royal on July
26 after 22 years as artistic director; James Cundall’s Shakespeare’s Rose
Theatre, in September, after hitting the financial icebergs .
Richard Bainbridge R.I.P.
Gone but
not forgotten: York Musical Theatre Company leading man,
director, teacher, chairman, bon viveur and pub guvnor Richard Bainbridge, who
died on July 6.
” We want to see how we can get a grip on the negative and bring about positive change,” says artistic director Sue Lister
THE Real
People Theatre Company will hold auditions on Saturday for All Change, their
contribution to the 2020 International Women’s Week.
The York
women’s theatre group will be staging their 21st annual production
at York St John University on March 13 and 14, directed by Rose Drew in tandem
with Missoon El Gomati and Tanya Nightingale.
All Change will explore how the world is changing and how changes must be made to secure our future well-being on our planet.
Artistic
director Sue Lister, who co-founded Real People with Ann Murray in 1999, says: “This
is a chance to bring women together to change the current narrative of our
lives. We want to see how we can get a grip on the negative and bring about
positive change.”
Saturday’s auditions will be held at the Tesco Community Room, Tadcaster Road, York, from 12.30pm. Just turn up!
Heart-breaking: Nathaniel Hall in his one-man show First Time at the Stephen Joseph Theatre. Pictures: Andrew Perry
CAN you remember your first time? Nathaniel Hall can’t seem to forget his. To be fair, he has had it playing on repeat for the last 15 years, and now he is telling all in his one-man show on tour in North Yorkshire next month.
After playing the VAULT Festival in London, he will embark on his travels, taking in the McCarthy at Scarborough’s Stephen Joseph Theatre on February 4, Harrogate Theatre’s Studio Theatre on February 5 and York Theatre Royal Studio on February 6, as part of Studio Discoveries, a week of new theatre chosen by Visionari, the Theatre Royal’s community programme group.
The party is over, the balloons have
all burst and Nathaniel is left living his best queer life: brunching on pills
and Googling ancient condoms and human cesspits on a weekday morning…or is he?
After playing the Edinburgh Fringe for four weeks last summer, HIV+ queer artist and theatre-maker Hall brings First Time to Scarborough, Harrogate and York as he strives to stay positive in a negative world. “Join me as I blow the lid on the secret I’ve been keeping all these years,” he says.
“Join me as I blow the lid on the secret I’ve been keeping all these years,” says Nathaniel Hall
Conceived, written and performed by HIV
activist Hall, this humorous but heart-breaking 75-minute autobiographical show
is based on his personal experience of living with HIV after contracting the
virus from his first sexual encounter at 16.
“Narratives of HIV often portray people living with the virus as
the victim. First Time doesn’t accept this stance,” says Hall. “It not only transforms audiences into HIV allies,
but also helps them rid toxic shame from their own lives.”
First Time takes up Hall’s story after an all-night party, when “he
hasn’t been to bed and he hasn’t prepared anything for the show. He’s only had
12 months and a grant from the Arts Council, but he can’t avoid the spotlight
anymore and is forced to revisit his troubled past”.
“First Time not only transforms audiences into HIV allies, but also helps them rid toxic shame from their own lives ,” says Nathaniel Hall
His path leads from sharing a stolen chicken and stuffing sandwich with a Will Young lookalike aged 16, through receiving the devastating news aged 17 and heart-breaking scenes devouring pills and powder for breakfast, to a candlelit vigil and finally a surprising ending full of reconciliation, hope…and a houseplant from Mum.
Commissioned by Waterside Arts and
Creative industries Trafford and developed with Dibby Theatre, the original
production led the Borough of Trafford’s 30th World AIDS Day
commemorations in 2018.
Directed by Chris Hoyle and designed by Irene Jade, with music and sound design by Hall, First Time will be staged at 7.45pm at each location. Tickets: Scarborough, 01723 370541 or at sjt.uk.com. Harrogate, 01423 502116 or harrogatetheatre.co.uk; York, 01904 623568 or yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Jessa Liversidge: celebrating female singers of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s in Songbirds
YORK singer Jessa Liversidge presents
Songbirds, a celebration of female icons through the decades, at Helmsley Arts
Centre on January 18.
“The show is a wonderful journey of
song, celebrating some of the most iconic female singers and songwriters of the
Sixties, Seventies and Eighties,” says Jessa.
“From musical theatre legends Julie
Andrews and Barbra Streisand and pop sensations Carole King, Karen Carpenter,
Kate Bush and more, to the hilariously clever comedy of Victoria Wood, this
programme has something for everyone.”
Every song will be sung by Jessa in
her trademark style: heartfelt, pure vocals, delivered with emotional
conviction, complemented by entertaining storytelling.
Born in Dundee and now based in North
Yorkshire, Jessa has devised and performed three one-woman shows: her tribute
to wartime women Till The Boys Come Home, the musical theatre compilation Some
Enchanted Sondheim and now her melange of vintage pop, musical theatre and
comedy, Songbirds, which she launched at Tollerton Village Hall last November.
She has sung at the Joseph Rowntree
Theatre and National Centre for Early Music in York, Helmsley Arts Centre and
Castle Howard, as well as performing as a soloist at the Royal British Legion
Festival of Remembrance at York Barbican for the past three years.
She sings as a guest soloist with the
award-winning Shepherd Group Brass Band and featured on their In Concert II CD.
“I enjoy spreading the joy of singing with all ages, from singing lessons and
schools to my dementia-friendly group, Singing For All,” she says.
At her 7.30pm concert, Jessa will be
accompanied by pianist Malcolm Maddock, who studied music at St John’s College,
Cambridge, specialising in composition and performance when working under
tutors David Wilcock and John Rutter.
On moving to London, he worked at the
London Opera Centre and Covent Garden. He has lived in York for the past 30 years,
working for soloists, bands, choirs and musical theatre companies.
Looking ahead, Jessa hopes to perform
her Songbirds show in York in the spring. Watch this space for more details.
Tickets for the Helmsley concert are on sale at helmsleyarts.co.uk or on 01439 771700.
Ward Thomas: Playing Leeds City Varieties this spring
COUNTRY-POP twin sisters Ward Thomas will play Leeds City Varieties
Music Hall on April 30, the second night of their Unfiltered acoustic tour.
After winningthe Global Artist Award at the 2019 CMA Awards,
Catherine and Lizzy Ward Thomas have announced a seven-date tour for Spring
2020.
The Hampshire twins will be complementing fan favourites from 2019’s top
ten album, Restless Minds, 2016’s chart-topping Cartwheels and 2014 debut release
From Where We Stand with new compositions.
The stripped-back arrangements will show off the sisters’ harmonies in
an intimate setting after a year when they toured Europe with Jack Savoretti, joining
him in a duet of The Killers’ Human at his sold-out Wembley Arena show. They
also played the Isle of Wight Festival, supported David Gray on his Australian tour
and performed Whiskey Lullaby with Brad Paisley at London’s O2 Arena.
Tickets for April 30 are on sale on 0113 243 0808 or at cityvarieties.co.uk or seetickets.com.
Charles Hutchinson reflects on the YORKshire year in the arts in 2019
NOTHING special happened in the arts scene in 2019…or did it? Find out tomorrow when the Hutch Award winners are announced for what made the art beat race faster across YORKshire at charleshutchpress.co.uk.
