Raven’s Sarah Dew, left, Karen Chalmers, Sally Lidgley, Nia Davidson, seated, Jaye Lewis and Pat Edmond: Playing Christmas concert at Scarborough Spa on December 18. Picture: Tony Bartholomew
SCARBOROUGH singers and multi-instrumentalists Raven will perform their home-town Christmas concert in Scarborough Spa’s Sun Court Suite on December 18.
Combining enchanting harmonies and haunting melodies, Raven’s magical Christmas journey will take in traditional festive songs and their own original music.
Formed in 2004, the versatile six-piece has performed at Grassington Fringe Festival, Coastival, Woodend, Filey Festival, the Spotlight Theatre, Bridlington, Helmsley Arts Centre, Selby Abbey, Castle Howard and Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough.
In the line-up are: Jaye Lewis, tenor recorder, flute and percussion; Karen Chalmers, vocals, keyboards, piano accordion, recorder and percussion; Nia Davidson, vocals, ukulele, recorder and percussion; Pat Edmond, vocals, guitar, recorder and percussion; Sally Lidgley, vocals and percussion, and Sarah Dew, vocals, keyboards, penny whistle, bass guitar and percussion.
Raven have created original soundtracks for Scarborough’s Animated Objects Theatre Company’s large-scale community projects Leviathan and Orpheus The Mariner and are working on The Odyssey, a three-year project for the Yorkshire Coast.
Tickets cost £12 from Raven’s Pat Edmond on 07757 765196 or via Raven’s Facebook page.
The White Horse From Fields Near Kilburn, Summer 2020, oil painting by Peter Miller
FOR 40 years, Peter Miller ran Ken Spelman’s Bookshop, on Micklegate, in York.
Now, he is completing a hattrick of exhibitions since the bookseller’s closing chapter, retirement in 2012, on the same side of the cobbled street, at Partisan, Florencia Clifford and Hugo Hildyard’s vibrant artisan café on the same side of the cobbled street.
Filling the café’s upstairs walls with God’s Own Country colour, Peter is exhibiting From Kilburn To Hawnby, his series of landscape oil paintings of North Yorkshire, until November 30.
“This is the third show I’ve had in the last few years, after Ken Spelman’s Bookshop in 2014 and Scampston Hall, near Malton, in 2015,” he says. “As with the first two, the paintings explore landscape, in this case North Yorkshire.
At easel: Peter Miller at work on an oil painting in his studio. Note the angle of his chair
“The first one featured Eskdale to Scarborough; the second one, for Scampston Hall, focused on the Wolds, and what you notice is that Yorkshire is such a big county with these completely different landscapes.
“The pictures are representational and are painted in a modest spirit of connection with place, but as with all painting, colour, tone and composition increasingly have become the real subject of the pictures.”
Miller’s tale behind his latest show begins on the Wolds. “I was approached by Florencia and Hugo to do an exhibition because they’d been out to a mutual friend, Una McCluskey’s house, beyond Kilnwick Percy, with its fantastic view of the Vale of York,” he recalls.
“Some years ago, I did a picture of that view for Una for her kitchen, and when Florencia and Hugo saw it, they said, ‘gosh, who did that?’. I’d known them for a long time, and in fact they approached me before the pandemic, saying they’d love to host an exhibition of my work…but of course it then got put back.”
Boltby Scar, Summer 2020, by Peter Miller
Peter is an enthusiastic walker, blessed with a painter’s appreciation of landscape. “I’d done a lot of walks between Hawnby and Kilburn before the first lockdown, getting out and about, and then, in between lockdowns, I was able to refresh my memory of certain landscape scenes,” he says.
“I then did the paintings in my studio based on studies and photographs: Kilburn to Hawnby is an area I know well because I go up to Shandy Hall in Coxwold, where I’m involved with the Laurence Sterne Trust, and I enjoyed doing the studies in different seasons, such as studies of the White Horse in spring, summer and autumn.
“Put together, the pictures form a tangible evocation of time spent in the wonderfully varied Yorkshire landscape.”
Peter’s love of walking takes him to the Wolds most weeks, packing up a sandwich and stretching the legs over eight to ten miles. “It’s very seldom that we experience weather bad enough to make us abandon the walk; the Yorkshire weather is often better than people imagine, and walking over the landscape is very sustaining,” he says.
Hay Bales II, near Felixkirk, Autumn 2020, by Peter Miller
With that in mind, you might expect Peter to be a plein-air painter, but not so. “There are very strong arguments for plein-air painting, but I prefer to carry the scene in my mind’s eye, have it there and then re-create it, re-living the moment of being there, because it’s not just a picture of being there in the open air: it has veracity in paint and tone, and I find that being at one remove suits me better.
“Whereas with plein-air painting, the light is changing all the time and I would find that very distracting.”
Peter uses watercolours and acrylics for sketching but favours oils for his paintings. “I’ve never really mastered the watercolour technique, which is very difficult,” he says. “I find oil to be the most sympathetic medium because you can move it around on the surface; you can point over it, you can mix in, blend in, the oils, whereas with acrylics, the surface is dry within half an hour.
“I love how, with oils, you can paint in the sky and two days later you can feather it around and change it a bit. That freedom is not something I would want to give up. It’s such a satisfactory feeling working with oils, and then when it’s finished, you apply the varnish that gives it an intensity that rather flatters it.”
In the mix: Peter Miller mid-painting in oils
Born in 1947, Peter grew up in Chiswick. “But when I was a boy, I lived with my grandparents for three years in Blackpool; my grandfather was a commercial artist there but loved the countryside and I used to go on sketching trips with him,” he says.
“I learned the basics of paintings from this lovely old man, and that was my starting point. In fact I did think of going to art school, but I felt it would be limiting my options too much, so instead I studied history as a degree.”
Peter’s grandfather, meanwhile, has his own place in Blackpool’s history. “At the age of 75, he was called out of retirement to repaint the 4,000 square feet of the Tower Ballroom ceiling after the fire of 1955,” he says.
“He had to re-create The Carnival of Venice series of murals, going up 120 ft of scaffolding to start each day’s painting in his mid-70s, with only one helper to mix the colours. The mural now has a preservation order on it.
Hay Bales and Field, near Felixkirk, Autumn 2020
“He was also invited to paint a scene that could be seen behind famous Tower Ballroom organist Reg Dixon as he emerged from below, choosing to paint Isle Of Capri, in honour of Gracie Fields, who sang that sing.”
Peter first came to York in 1965, initially as an undergraduate at the then-new University of York, but like many since, he ended up staying, running Spelman’s, latterly in partnership with Tony Fothergill, until the canvas and cloth called.
“In that time, I’ve always had close links with the Friends of York Art Gallery, helped to set up a modern art gallery in Grape Lane and held regular art exhibitions at the bookshop from the late 1970s,” says Peter.
One such artistic association has come in handy for the latest exhibition. “Many of the frames were given to me by my artist friend John Langton, who’s now in his late-80s and no longer paints,” reveals Peter. “I availed myself of them and then did the paintings to fit the frames! It ended up being the cheapest exhibition I’ve ever done!”
Peter Miller: From Kilburn To Hawnby, Landscape Paintings of North Yorkshire, on show at Partisan, Micklegate, York, until November 30.Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 9am to 3pm; Saturday and Sunday, 9am to 4pm.
The River Rye at Hawnby, Early Autumn 2020, by Peter Miller
So frustrated: Paul Chowdhry has his say on Covid, fame, England’s football team and Tom Cruise’s chopper at the Grand Opera House, York, tonight
IMAGINE if you could have a busy week ahead? Let Charles Hutchinson fill your diary.
Angriest comedy gig of the week: Paul Chowdhry, Grand Opera House, York, tonight, 8pm
AFTER barely surviving the pandemic, British-Asian stand-up Paul Chowdhry tackles the UK’s handling of the Coronavirus crisis and why the rules of six only worked for white people in Family-Friendly Comedian (No Children).
Two years of pent-up frustration go into this new tour show, where Londoner Chowdhry also discusses fame, England football fans and Tom Cruise landing his helicopter in someone’s garden. Box office: 0844 871 7615 or at atgtickets.com/york.
Chesca Cholewa: Writer of Imagine If Theatre Company’s My Old Man
Studio play of the week: Imagine If Theatre Company in My Old Man, York Theatre Royal Studio, tonight, 8pm
IMAGINE If Theatre Company, from Leeds, is touring a part-theatre, part-film production of Chesca Cholewa’s humorous and heartfelt play My Old Man.
When Michal Piwowarski’s granddaughter, Tasha (played by Cholewa), finally moves out, his whole world changes. The school dinner-lady becomes his favourite person, a new neighbour moves on to the street, and Michal (Paul Shelley) has to face his biggest battle yet as My Old Man follows the trials and tribulations of this old, blind Polish soldier. Box office: 01904 623568 or at yorkthreatreroyal.co.uk.
Songs and Stables’ leadership: Kate Stables brings her band This Is The Kit to The Citadel tomorrow night
Experimental gig of the week: This Is The Kit, The Citadel, Gillygate, York, tomorrow, 7.30pm
KATE Stables’ experimental folk quartet This Is The Kit return to York for a special show at The Citadel, the former Salvation Army HQ, presented by Please Please You, The Crescent and Brudenell Presents. Support comes from Nuala Honan and Pavey Ark. Box office: brudenellsocialclub.seetickets.com.
York artist Karen Winship, taking part in the Inspired Christmas event at York Cemetery Chapel
Christmas shopping? Opportunity presents itself at Inspired, York Cemetery Chapel, Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 5pm.
INSPIRED, the annual Christmas show by York artist and designer makers, will be held at York Cemetery Chapel, in Cemetery Road, York, this weekend.
Taking part will be Jo Bagshaw and Richard Whitelegg, jewellery; Catherine Boyne-Whitelegg, pottery; Petra Bradley, textiles; Sally Clarke, collage printmaking; Angela Newdick, collage and surface pattern design; Adi French and Karen Winship, painting, and John Watts and Wilf Williams, furniture.
PQA York’s poster for Disney’s The Little Mermaid Jr at the JoRo
Children’s show of the week: PQA Productions in Disney’s The Little Mermaid Jr, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, tomorrow and Saturday, 7.30pm
PAULINE Quirke Academy (PQA) York journeys under the sea with Ariel and her aquatic friends in Disney’s The Little Mermaid Jr, adapted from Disney’s Broadway show and film, based on Hans Christian Andersen’s story of sacrifices made for love and acceptance.
Young mermaid Ariel longs to leave her magical ocean home and fins behind for the world above. First, however, she must defy her father, King Triton, make a deal with evil sea witch Ursula and convince Prince Eric she is the girl whose enchanting voice he has been seeking. Separate casts perform the two shows. Box office: 01904 501935 or at josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Adam Sowter, Florence Poskitt, Alexandra Mather and Andrew Roberts in rehearsal for Saturday’s Fladam and Friends’ Musical Comedy Hootenanny
Witty and warm songs of the week: Fladam and Friends’ Musical Comedy Hootenanny, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, Saturday, 2.30pm and 7.30pm
FLADAM duo Florence Poskitt and pianist Adam Sowter take to the Theatre@41 stage with thespian friends Alexandra Mather, Andrew Roberts and Andrew Isherwood for two shows of musical comedy joy.
Fladam’s own topical witty ditties will be complemented by a celebration of Morecambe & Wise, Bernard Cribbins, Victoria Wood and more. Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
Scarlett Waugh, left, and Libby Anderson: Sharing the role of Dorothy in NE Musicals York’s production of The Wizard Of Oz
Sparkling slippers of the week: NE Musicals York in The Wizard Of Oz, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, Tuesday (23/11/2021) to Saturday
DIRECTOR Steve Tearle has assembled a cast of 60 for NE Musicals York’s energetic staging of The Wizard Of Oz, led by Libby Anderson and Scarlett Waugh, who will alternate the role of Dorothy.
Further roles go to Maia Stroud as Glinda; YO1 presenter Chris Marsden, the Wizard of Oz; Perri Ann Barley, Wicked Witch of the West; Finley Butler, the Scarecrow; Kristian Barley, the Tin Man, and Tearle himself as the Cowardly Lion.
Expect an all-singing, all-dancing production with special effects by Adam Moore’s team at Tech247. Box office: 01904 501935 or at josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Phoenix rising again: Phoenix Dance Theatre celebrate their 40th anniversary this autumn, opening their tour at York Theatre Royal
Dance celebration of the week: Phoenix Dance Theatre in 40 Years Of Phoenix, York Theatre Royal, Tuesday and Wednesday, 7.30pm
PHOENIX Dance Theatre launch their milestone 40th birthday programme at York Theatre Royal, bringing together highlights from the Leeds company’s groundbreaking history.
Phoenix will combine celebration and reflection in a show featuring Lost Dog duo Ben Duke and Raquel Meseguer’s Pave Up Paradise; former artistic director Darshan Singh Bhuller’s Heart Of Chaos; Henri Oguike’s Signal; Shapiro and Smith’s satirical piece Family and Jane Dudley’s 1938 masterpiece Harmonica Breakdown. Box office: 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
Director Nik Briggs, left, choreographer Emily Taylor and lead actors Sophie Hammond and Damien Poole at the launch of York Stage Musicals’ festive show, Elf! The Musical
Christmas musical of the week: York Stage Musicals in Elf! The Musical, Grand Opera House, York, November 25 to December 3
YORK Stage Musicals present the York premiere of Matthew Sklar, Chad Beguelin, Thomas Meehan and Bob Martin’s Elf! The Musical, directed by artistic director Nik Briggs.
Based on Will Ferrell’s 2003 film, Elf! follows orphan child Buddy to Santa’s North Pole abode, where, unaware he is human, his enormous size and poor toy-making abilities cause him to face the truth.
Given Santa’s permission, Buddy (Damien Poole) heads to New York City to find his birth father, discover his true identity and help the Big Apple to remember the true meaning of Christmas. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Amaka Okafor: Taking part in the staged readings of Lucy Kirkwood’s Maryland at Friargate Theatre, York
Play readings of the week: Riding Lights Theatre Company presents Maryland, Friargate Theatre, York, November 26, 6.30pm and 8.30pm
TWO staged readings of Lucy Kirkwood’s 30-minute protest play will feature Amaka Okafor, from the original Royal Court Theatre cast, Laura Pyper, Mark Holgate, Cassie Vallance, Kesiah Joseph, Patricia Jones and Meg Blowey.
Kirkwood wrote Maryland as a “passionate and furious act of resistance to draw attention to the shocking numbers of women who repeatedly suffer violent abuse throughout Britain. The play is not specific; it addresses issues of police behaviour and a culture of violence against women and girls”.
After sold-out performances in London, the Royal Court offered Maryland for free for theatre companies to perform in solidarity and protest. York company Riding Lights has taken up that opportunity, with associate director Bridget Foreman directing the readings. Box office: 01904 613000.
James: Teaming up with Happy Mondays for a Manchester night out in Leeds
Gig of the week ahead outside York: James and special guests Happy Mondays, Leeds First Direct Arena, November 25, doors, 6pm
ALL of 33 years ago, Factory label mates James and Happy Mondays first toured together. Now, two of Manchester’s champion bands reunite for a November and December arena tour.
“Last played with them in 1988, hopefully this time they won’t steal our rider or try and spike my drink,” tweeted Tim Booth, James’s Clifford-born frontman, when announcing the dates with rapscallion rascals Shaun Ryder, Bez and co.
James, who played Scarborough Open Air Theatre this summer, will be showcasing their “sweet 16th” album, All The Colours Of You, released in June. Box office: firstdirectarena.com. Stage times: Happy Mondays, 7.30pm; James, 9pm.
THIS Is The Kit, Kate Stables’ experimental folk quartet, return to York on Friday for a special show at The Citadel, the former Salvation Army HQ in Gillygate, York.
Rearranged from March by promoters by Please Please You, The Crescent and Brudenell Presents, this will be a standing gig with balcony seating above at the home of the York City Church .
At the heart of the gig will be This Is The Kit’s fifth album, October 2020’s Off Off On, and its June offshoot of offcuts, the seven-track Off Off Oddities EP.
For her follow-up to 2017’s Moonshine Freeze, Stables decided to work with producer Josh Kaufman, New York musician, Hold Steady collaborator and member of Bonny Light Horseman and Muzz. Stables had first met him when working with Anaïs Mitchell on a cover of Osibisa’s Woyaya, their paths later crossing at the People residencies in Berlin and Brooklyn.
“We were on the same page about a lot of musical ideas, as well as doing things I wouldn’t do musically,” says Kate. “It was a lovely mixture of ‘you’re exactly in my brain and exactly at the opposite end of my brain’.”
The artwork for This Is The Kit’s fifth album, Off Off On, released in October 2020
After the band – completed by Rozi Plain, bass/vocals, Neil Smith, guitar, Jesse D Vernon, guitar/keyboards, Jamie Whitby-Coles, drum/vox – reunited for cold-water rehearsals in Wales, they headed to Wiltshire’s Real World Studios, finishing just in time for everyone to head home for lockdown.
Kate explains the meaning behind the album’s stand-out song, This Is What You Did. “It’s a bit of a panic attack song. The negative voices of other people that are your own voice. Or are they? Hard to say when you’re in this kind of a place. How to get out of this place? Needing to get outside more,” she says.
“Cosmically topical, what with these recent days of being inside all the time. Knowing the things, you should do because they’re good for you and make you feel better but for some reason you still stay inside and fester in your own self-doubt and regret and self-loathing. Fun times!
“We all get into negative mind loops sometimes. Especially when you’re not getting the fresh air and outside time you need to stay healthy.”
Since 2008’s debut, Krulle Bol, This Is the Kit have unpicked emotional knots and woven intriguing stories, with Off Off On being a beautifully clear distillation of Stables’ song-writing gifts. By the end of 2018, This Is The Kit had finished touring Moonshine Freeze, but Stables’ natural impulse to start the next record was diverted when she was invited to join The National on tour in a continuation of the role she took on the Cincinnati band’s album I Am Easy To Find.
“We all get into negative mind loops sometimes. Especially when you’re not getting the fresh air and outside time you need to stay healthy,” says Kate Stables, pictured outdoors
“I think it did me loads of good,” says Kate. “It was so brilliant when I was writing to be away from my songs and the responsibility of overseeing a band or a project – just to forget about that for a while and be a minion in someone else’s band was brilliant. I loved it. I think it really helped my writing and my getting through whatever I needed to get through.”
Off Off On ensued, followed this summer by Off Off Oddities, an EP on Rough Trade made up of Recommencer, featuring Mina Tindle; Was Magician (Live at L’Épicerie Moderne); Found Out (Horns Version); Coming To Get You Nowhere (Joe’s Garage Version) Keep Going (Desert Island Version); Slider (Lorenzo Saxophone Dub) and a cover of New York City supergroup Muzz’s Bad Feeling.
“In the making of an album, there are inevitably bits and bobs that don’t get used,” says Kate. “And sometimes you feel like sharing them with folks to kind of show a bit the story and geology and important people who played a part in the album’s making and releasing.”
Will even newer material feature in Friday’s concert? Wait and see.
This Is The Kit play The Citadel, York on Friday, supported by Nuala Honan and Pavey Ark; doors, 7pm. Box office: brudenellsocialclub.seetickets.com.
NEW Kind Of Neighbourhood, a new festival curated by and featuring This Is The Kit at Leeds Brudenell Social Club on Sunday, has sold out. Doors open at 3pm for a bill of The Brackish, The Magic Lantern, Masi Masi, Nuala Honan, Rachael Dadd, Rozi Plain, Yusuf Yellow and headliners This Is The Kit.
Amaka Okafor, from the Royal Court premiere, will join the Riding Lights company for staged readings of Lucy Kirkwood’s Maryland in York
YORK’S Riding Lights Theatre Company will present two staged readings of Lucy Kirkwood’s Maryland, a 30-minute “howl” of a protest play, written in response to sexual violence against women.
Amaka Okafor, from the original Royal Court Theatre cast, will be joined in associate director Bridget Foreman’s cast by Laura Pyper, Mark Holgate, Cassie Vallance, Kesiah Joseph, Patricia Jones and Meg Blowey at Friargate Theatre, Lower Friargate, York, rehearsing for two days for script-in-hand performances at 6.30pm and 8.30pm on November 26.
In the immediate aftermath of the September 17 murder of Sabine Nessa and the sentencing of policeman Wayne Couzens for Sarah Everard’s kidnap, rape and murder, Kirkwood decided that a “provocative” play “had to happen now”, as she told the Guardian.
The Skins screenwriter and Chimerica and The Children playwright duly wrote the agit-prop Maryland “very quickly” as a “passionate and furious act of resistance to draw attention to the shocking numbers of women who repeatedly suffer violent abuse throughout Britain. The play is not specific; it addresses issues of police behaviour and a culture of violence against women and girls”.
Director Bridget Foreman
“I hesitate to even call it a play when it is simply a howl, a way of expressing what I feel about a culture of violence against women,” Kirkwood said in a quote she gave to the Royal Court. “But I am sharing it because I wonder if it might express a little of what other people feel about it too.”
After sold-out performances in London, the Royal Court offered Maryland copyright-free for theatre companies to perform in solidarity and protest until November 27. York company Riding Lights was quick to take up that opportunity.
“It is not our intention to make a particular link with any of the women in York whose stories have achieved a terrible notoriety,” stresses Riding Lights’ acting general manager, Bernadette Burbridge.
“We don’t wish in any way to add to the pain of families and friends whose suffering will never resolve.
Riding Lights cast member Cassie Vallance
“Violence against women is a persistent canker in society and this is a moment in which Riding Lights can seize the offer from the Royal Court to speak loudly through art.
“To amplify this cry of protest as loudly as possible, we hope these performances will be sold out and that audiences will include as many men as women.”
Welcoming Riding Lights mounting Maryland at short notice, administrative co-producer Professor Gweno Williams says: “It’s an issue that I’m passionate about and I’m delighted that Lucy’s play is being put on in York after the writer and Royal Court decided it should be released to theatres for a month. My goal in co-producing these readings is not just do some good by publicising what’s happening but also to bring about change.
“How extraordinary it is that this brand-new script by an outstanding contemporary playwright has been made available UK-wide for copyright-free performance by any professional theatre company for a limited number of weeks after the Royal Court run ended on October 23.
Laura Pyper: Maryland cast memberfor the November 26 staged readings
“Maryland expresses passionate outrage about current repeated patterns of random violence against women, including women of colour.”
Describing Maryland as “an overview rather than a specific case”, Gweno says: “It was written by Lucy in two days and it’s incredibly strong piece that’s been called a howl of rage.
“The cast comprises six women and one man, and the play is structured partly as a Greek drama with six Furies, with the drama alternating between the ancient Furies and a contemporary scene in the aftermath of a rape.”
Tickets cost £5 on 01904 613000. The two audiences will be invited to make a recommended donation of £7 or more to Survive, a York charity that supports survivors of sexual abuse. Donations also can be made via survive-northyorks.org.uk.
Composer Lillie Harris: “Commissioned piece will stand alone well as an introit or anthem”
ON the eve of Remembrance Sunday, there could be no more perfect choice of repertory than A German Requiem, Brahms’ non-liturgical memorial to the dead. It was given in the original German to the composer’s own piano-duet version, alongside a short unaccompanied new work commissioned from Lillie Harris.
Like so many performers during lockdown, Chapter House Choir under Benjamin Morris has struggled to stay together and survive. So this was a test of its mettle, as well as being the first post-lockdown ticketed musical event at York Minster itself.
While it is true that Brahms intended a “human” requiem, he did not mean a humanist one, as implied by the programme note. The two words are not interchangeable. He selected exclusively biblical texts for his work – as did Miss Harris, who used only texts selected by Brahms, understandably but also courageously, given that comparisons were bound to be made between old and new.
Her motet, entitled Comfort, began with a prolonged hum incorporating a three-note motif. At first this seemed to be the link between the five brief sections of text. But like the grass withering, it faded and the tonality became more diffuse, in a manner reminiscent of Eric Whitacre, with a slight loss of focus.
Alex Ashworth. “Forthright at the top of his range”. Picture: Debbie Scanlan
The ending – “so will I comfort you” – resolved beautifully, speaking of a technique capable of offering more challenges than were on offer here. My feeling is that this piece will stand alone well as an introit or anthem but will tend to be overshadowed in the company of a whole requiem, like a tugboat sheltering beside an ocean liner, largely overlooked.
Commercial nous was what drove Brahms to write this four-hands at one piano version of his Requiem, which was quickly demanded after the success of the orchestral original. It makes for a more intimate atmosphere but should not be regarded as a complete replacement.
A smooth line was immediately apparent in the choir, with sopranos pinging their high notes satisfyingly. In ‘For all flesh is as grass’, each return of the opening unison was progressively firmer and the closing fugato appeared in a crisp staccato.
Soprano Susan Young: “Maternal, consolatory tone”
In the first of his two contributions, baritone Alex Ashworth was forthright at the top of his range while sustaining an impressive legato. The mood-change at “the souls of the righteous” was almost jaunty; no reason why not, given Brahms’ positive attitude and keenness to avoid prolonged lugubriousness.
It was in “How lovely are thy dwellings” that it became clear that the pianists, Eleanor Kornas and Polly Sharpe, who were otherwise unfailingly tasteful, needed to come to the fore at moments when the choir was not involved rather than remain in the background. They were not, it should be added, blessed with a piano in ideal shape: it sounded particularly tinny in the upper reaches.
The maternal, consolatory tone that soprano Susan Young found for “You now therefore have sorrow”, suggesting that a silver lining lay round the corner, was just about ideal. She polished it off with a beautifully controlled piano that distilled the very essence of Isaiah’s words of comfort.
If the last trump fell slightly short of sending shivers down the spine and the fugue that followed it lacked clarity because individual entries were not given enough prominence, there was considerable compensation in the finale, ‘Blessed are the dead’, which was clean, confident and comforting. The Chapter House Choir is back and in fine fettle.
They’re off to see the Wizard: Libby Anderson’s Dorothy, Kristian Barley’s Tin Man and Finley Butler’s Scarecrow in rehearsal for NE Musicals York’s The Wizard Of Oz
DIRECTOR Steve Tearle has assembled a cast of 60 for NE Musicals York’s energetic staging of The Wizard Of Oz at the Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, from November 23 to 27.
The company will be led by Libby Anderson and Scarlett Waugh, who will alternate the role of Dorothy. “They are both amazing,” says Steve.
Further principal roles go to Maia Stroud as Glinda; YO1 presenter Chris Marsden, the Wizard of Oz; Perri Ann Barley, Wicked Witch of the West; Finley Butler, the Scarecrow; Kristian Barley, the Tin Man, and Tearle himself as the Cowardly Lion.
The Lollipop Guild welcomes Dorothy (out of picture) to Munchkinland: Zachary Pickersgill, left, as Someri Munchkin, Jack Reed as Ginger Munchkin, Matthew Musk as Kikiaru Munchkin and Sam Reed as Henkle Munchkin
Expect an all-singing, all-dancing production with special effects by Adam Moore’s team at Tech247. “This amazing story is full of heart, knowledge, courage and love for our families,” says company chairman Steve.
“With more than 60 cast members and the youngest being just six years old, this truly is a theatre event. Our company is made up of families, with mums and dads on stage and their children or parents chaperoning backstage.”
In the familiar but updated story, when a tornado rips through present-day Kansas, Dorothy and her dog, Toto, are whisked away in their house to the magical land of Oz.
The Lullaby League: Sophia Cocker as Lullaby League teacher Amie-Amme Munchkin; Lexie Brooks as Mubba-Subba Munchkin; Aimee Dean-Hamilton as Bonnini-Pop Munchkin; Suraya Pickersgill as Pippy-Bay Munchkin; Abigail Ainley as Mulini Munchkin Graggity and Elizabeth Reese as Blinki-Bop Munchkin
There they meet a good witch called Glinda, who tells them they need to follow the Yellow Brick Road towards the Emerald City to meet the Wizard. Along the way, Dorothy and Toto befriend a Scarecrow, a Tin Man, and a Cowardly Lion, who join them on her quest, but not all is as it seems, alas.
The Wicked Witch of the West is determined to stop them, but will she succeed, or will Dorothy prevail and return home safely, Toto in tow?
“We’ll have a full orchestra, 200 specially designed costumes and 150 wigs, and our amazing projections will only add to this being a truly magical musical adventure,” says Steve.
A group rehearsal for NE Musicals York’s production of The Wizard Of Oz
“Rehearsals are going well, and we go into the theatre from Sunday. Fingers crossed all goes to plan! We’ve sold out the Friday evening show and Saturday matinee, with only seven seats left for the Saturday night and limited availability for the Tuesday and Thursday performances.
“Our opening night is dedicated to Millie May Wright, and the charities we’ll be supporting and collecting for are Candlelighters, Snappy and Stimul8.”
NE Musicals York in The Wizard Of Oz, Joseph Rowntree Theatre, York, November 23 to 27, 7,.30pm nightly and 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: 01904 501935 or at josephrowntreetheatre.co.uk.
Meet Dolly, one of two Totos, along with her brother Teddy, for NE Musicals York’s The Wizard Of Oz
The first image from the Grapevine Project’s Vine #9 by Richard Little, sent on anonymously to Adele Karmazyn, who did likewise when forwarding her work to Rich Whittington. View them in turn for a demonstration of how each artwork influences the next
THE Grapevine Project, a collaborative York art project and exhibition of 120 artists, writers and creators, each creating work influenced by fellow participants, is launched online on Friday.
Mostly based in York, these artists anonymously received a work, to which they had to respond creatively before then anonymously passing their own work on to the next artist.
“The resulting exhibition is a marvellous online display of painting, poetry, film, sculpture and more, and demonstrates the hidden threads of influence and creativity that connect those in the arts, even in times of isolation and separation,” says organiser and multi-disciplinary artist Mim Robson.
Initiated by Mim at the start of lockdown, the project began with 11 photographers, who each anonymously submitted an image to be forwarded to artists. “These artists then produced a new artwork in response, starting a thread of work that grew into a ‘grapevine’ of original art, poetry, film, sculpture and more,” she says.
“The process led to a series of beautifully interwoven transitions of thought, ideas and themes, demonstrating art’s ability to communicate and connect people. Every submission was passed on anonymously to the next artist, who would create a work in response, resulting in 11 separate ‘vines’ of art, each made up of 11 artists.”
Adele Karmazyn’s White Tails, from the Vine #9 thread of the Grapevine Project
The artists, although primarily based in Yorkshire, are spread across Britain and even into Europe. “The project has resulted in a rich and varied collection of work that celebrates our differences while also looking at what connects us,” says Mim.
“All of the artwork created is wonderful in its own unique way, and the results within each group are fascinating.”
The project ran for almost a year and is now at a stage where the art is ready to be revealed to the world on Friday in an open-ended online exhibition.
“The Grapevine Project started as a simple idea that transformed into a huge discovery of how artists take inspiration and make it their own,” says Mim. “I’ve loved seeing the threads of ideas and themes grow and evolve in each of the 11 vines within the project”
Rich Whittington’s Reflection, the third image in sequence from Vine #9 of the Grapevine Project. Note the reflection of Adele Karmazyn’s work in the deer’s eye
Fladam musical comedy duo Florence Poskitt and Adam Sowter
PUT York actors Florence Poskitt and Adam Sowter together and they become Fladam, a musical comedy duo with a regular radio slot and a live show coming up at Theatre@ 41, Monkgate, York.
Make that two shows: Fladam and Friends’ Musical Comedy Hootenanny! will be performed at 2.30pm and 7.30pm on Saturday (20/11/2021).
Devotees of York’s musical theatre and theatre scene will be familiar with Florence, northern character actress, comic performer, singer, dancer and multi-instrumentalist, and Adam, character actor, comic performer, pianist, harmonica and ukulele player, singer, composer, comedy songwriter and cartoonist.
A couple both on and off stage, they have branched out into presenting their own heartfelt, humorous songs, tackling the topical with witty wordplay, uplifting melodies and a dash of the Carry On! comic spirit.
“After our (almost) live debut at York Theatre Royal in the Love Bites nights in May, we’re coming home to host our very own Musical Comedy Hootenanny,” they say. “Enjoy special guests, fabulous Fladam originals and comic classics from Morecambe & Wise, Bernard Cribbins and Victoria Wood. What are you waiting for? ‘Let’s do it’!”
Fladam has progressed from bedroom to stage. “This is our first full-scale live show,” says Adam. “We’ve gone from recording videos of songs on phones from the corner of our bedroom in lockdown to doing it live, first with one number at Love Bites and now this show with friends.”
“With nowhere to rehearse, we’re rehearsing in the kitchen, to my parents’ delight,” says Florence.
Each Saturday, at 12.45pm, Fladam can be heard on Harry Whittaker’s show on BBC Radio York. “The challenge is to write a topical new song each week, recording it with an introduction, and sending it in on an MP3,” says Adam. “Simple as that!”
Fladam’s poster for Saturday’s shows at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York
When Fladam met up with CharlesHutchPress, Adam and Florence had just spent half-term at Eureka!, the National Children’s Museum, in Halifax. “We spent a week being pirates, playing Captain Jack and Polly Roger in our Pirate Adventure,” says Florence.
“It came about through the company I work with when I do cruise ships,” says Adam. “They have many pies in the oven, including at Eureka!, where last year I played a vampire, Count Dracula, and they asked me, ‘Do you want to do another show?’ for half-term week.”
Yes, he would, albeit with only one day’s rehearsal with Florence. “We did the show four times a day, half an hour each show, starting with me doing a monologue, and by the Thursday my voice had gone, so Adam had to go on and improvise!” says Florence, who studied last year on a year-long “Project A” course, run through Newcastle Theatre Royal, that ended up being conducted largely on Zoom under Covid restrictions.
“Though we did also get a lot of lessons on the main stage, wearing masks, as no productions could take place on there, but we couldn’t put on a single live show during the course.”
Now, Florence has a new day job at York Gin’s shop in Pavement, as well as her Fladam commitments, joined by three friends for this weekend’s shows: Alexandra Mather, fresh from playing Pamina in York Opera’s production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute; Andrew Isherwood, one of the Clowns in York Settlement Community Players’ illness-curtailed run of The 39 Steps last week, and Andrew Roberts, who starred in Rowntree Players’ modern account of Agatha Christie’s Spider’s Web in late-September.
“When we were doing our little videos, we did a Dad’s Army section for VE Day, and had Andrew Roberts and Alex involved in that,” says Adam.
“Andrew Isherwood does a very good Tom Lehrer, as well as being like Eric Morecambe meets Rik Mayall.”
What’s in store on Saturday? “We’ll be doing plenty of comedy covers as well as our own songs, where we’ll plunder our archives and stuff we’ve done for Harry’s radio shows,” says Florence.
Adam Sowter, Florence Poskitt and Alexandra Mather in rehearsal for Saturday’s Fladam & Friends’ Musical Comedy Hootenanny!
“We’ll be paying tribute to people who’ve inspired us, like Bernard Cribbins, Morecambe & Wise, George Formby, Victoria Wood and Monty Python…and maybe there’ll even be some puppets! Well, definitely a fish puppet, Mr Fish, for our spoof children’s show number.”
Adam adds: “One of the things we have to do is look at the old songs through 2021 eyes, acknowledging that a song is of its time, so we have to be a bit ‘woke’, like with Monty Python’s Lumberjack Song.
“Our set will be like a 1970s’ television special, with one side of the stage being like Eric and Ernie’s flat, and the show itself will be more like our little fantasy (as if you were watching Morecambe & Wise).
“Morecambe & Wise’s humour is so warm and lovely, and our style of humour is gentle too; we like to do songs that are clever and make you smile at the same time.”
Look out for a pantomime finale. “We’ll do a little pantomime from the songs we’d written for a panto last year that ended up being on a podcast, because of the Covid lockdown, after we were contacted to do a charity pantomime,” says Florence, who played Tommy the Cat, from Dick Whittington, while Adam played a full-of-beans Jack.
What is in the pipeline for Fladam in 2022? “We’ll see how this show goes and then look to develop it, possibly with a view to taking it to the Edinburgh Fringe next year, or maybe the year after, after we first planned to go to the Fringe two years ago, until Covid stopped that,” says Florence.
“We’re also looking to perform at At The Mill at Stillington Mill, which we’d really love to do.”
Fladam and Friends’ Musical Comedy Hootenanny!, Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, November 20, 2.30pm and 7.30pm.Box office: tickets.41monkgate.co.uk.
ABBA’s artwork for Voyage, the long, long-awaited follow-up to The Visitors
ABBA, Voyage (Polar) *****
WHAT were you doing 40 years ago?
While Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan and Leonid Brezhnev ruled the world, we saw the opening of the Humber Bridge, the capture of Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe, the running of the first London Marathon, and we all celebrated the nuptials of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer.
Significantly, ABBA’s eighth studio album, The Visitors, was released on November 30 1981. At the time, we had no idea that this was to be their swansong as a collective.
For although both vocalists have sporadically returned to the main stage, and Benny & Bjorn have written for musical theatre and the occasional guest artist, nothing quite matched the glory of the real ABBA.
Only a handful of bands have caught the imagination of multiple generations. Certainly, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Doors, Led Zeppelin and Queen are in this category. So too are ABBA.
It is a testament to the power of the Swedes’ music that many a fan of the Mamma Mia! theatre production and movies were not even born when Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny and Anni-Frid first unveiled their music.
So, 40 years on, Voyage is the album that many a fan never dared would happen, indeed the Holy Grail of Pop. With much fanfare, on September 2, the world was introduced to the opening track I Still Have Faith in You. Anni-Frid’s lead vocal lay down the mission statement in an overtly sentimental song about friendship, faith, doubt and determination.
Welcome back after 40 years: ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus, 76, Agnetha Fältskog, 71, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, 76, and Benny Andersson, 74
At the same press launch, we were introduced to Agnetha’s tour de force, Don’t Shut Me Down, featuring Benny’s heavy piano glissando, rich strings and a harp or two in a huge orchestral arrangement.
Now comes the rest: When You Danced With Me is a Celtic-themed jig that captures the joy of The Piper from Super Trouper, while Bumblebee is pure Fernando. Meanwhile, Just A Notion sounds like a vintage classic that would not have been out of place on Arrival.
Lyrically, I Can Be That Woman and Keep An Eye On Dan showcase maturing couples in marital disharmony. The latter track embraces the sense of menace and tension Bjorn and Benny used to best effect on their Chess album.
The adult theme is best captured in the simply gorgeous, tender ballad Little Things. An unabashed Christmas song, this is a work of beauty, showcasing the pleasures of the season, as seen through the eyes of a child witnessed by the grandmother, albeit aided with a little inspiration from Mozart.
Likewise, the anthemic Ode To Freedom borrows from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake and evokes Like An Angel Passing Through My Room. Both are destined to become classics by any standard. What a glorious return.
Little surprise then that sales for Voyage in its first week eclipse those of the entire Top 40 combined. This may have been supported by no less than TWENTY physical versions of the album, available in limited quantities.
The best of the bunch are the two beautiful picture discs, but was it really necessary to churn out multiple coloured (green, white, yellow, orange, blue, black) albums, cassettes and CDs in various artwork versions to pump up sales? No wonder there is a global vinyl shortage!
